The new scheme will incentivise customers to bring their own reusable containers to M&S’ Market Place counters
Image: M&S has launched new reusable container scheme for fresh food-to-go. Photo: courtesy of Marks and Spencer plc.
British multinational retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has introduced a new reusable container scheme for fresh food-to-go, in a bid to reduce single-use packaging.
M&S is offering the new reusable container scheme at its Market Place counters to incentivise customers bringing their own reusable containers. Under the Market Place concept, M&S will provide a 25p discount on each meal.
New reusable container scheme for fresh food-to-go
The new scheme, which is available at M&S’ busy city centre stores, provides a variety of hot and cold lunch-to-go options ranging from rotisserie chicken and fish to freshly prepared salads.
The retailer said that the new scheme is part of its strategy to change consumer behaviour and reduce the use of disposable items on the high street.
Each week, more than 70,000 people pick up lunch from Market Place, which is presently provided in 23 stores, including London Pantheon on Oxford Street, Newcastle, Norwich and Manchester.
The retailer is already providing 25p incentive for hot drinks served in reusable coffee cups from April 2018.
To promote reuse among customers, M&S is also selling a range of clip storage containers, price starting from £4, at the Market Place counters.
Market Place’s existing recyclable single-use containers are produced by using Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified cardboard with a plastic lid.
M&S has already eliminated 1,000 tonnes of plastic packaging from across its business and plans to make its packaging widely recyclable by 2022, as part of its plastic reduction plan. It also intends to remove all black plastic from its food business by the end of 2020.
M&S food technology director Paul Willgoss said: “Our priority is to reduce single-use packaging and ensure any we do use can be reused or recycled, as we work towards our 2022 target for all our packaging to be widely recyclable.
“Food-to-go is a growing market; so finding solutions in this space is an important part of our wider plan. Our Market Place containers are already widely recyclable, but we want to go a step further with the introduction of an incentive to encourage customers to switch to reusable containers.”
Earlier this year, M&S launched more than 90 lines of loose fruit and vegetables completely free of plastic packaging in a trial at its Tolworth store in the UK.