UK-based frozen food retailer Iceland launched trials to remove plastic bags from one of its stores in London, as part of its fight against plastic.
Image: A newer style Iceland store in Clapham Common, London. Photo: courtesy of Adcro/Wikipedia.
At the Hackney, London store, Iceland will offer its customers 15p extra-strong paper bags as an alternative to plastic bags.
The extra-strong paper bags are designed to hold up to 16kg and are equivalent of 70 packs of its 226g No Bull Burgers, Iceland said.
Additionally, the retailer will offer its customers with 10p lighter weight paper carrier bags, £1 jute bags, £1 Disney branded cotton bags, and small paper bags for meat products.
Iceland said it also plans to trial the 15p paper bags alongside 15p plastic bags for life in 25 stores across North Wales, Wirral and Cheshire.
Planned to be introduced to a further 15 stores in Manchester from 10 August 2019, the trial is aimed at observing consumer preference.
Iceland managing director Richard Walker said: “We know that many customers are using ‘bags for life’ only once and the retail industry needs to work together to challenge this behaviour and find alternative solutions.
“Over 1.2 billion plastic bags for life were sold last year in the UK and this needs to change drastically.
“These trials will help us to understand how our customers feel about removing one of the most common objects associated with plastic, the supermarket carrier bag, and how they respond to various alternatives.
“We’re looking forward to seeing how customers respond and using the results of the trials in our wider plans to reduce our plastic footprint.”
Over a six-month period, the trials are anticipated to collectively save over 210,000 plastic bags.
The retailer said that the trials are part of its effort to replace single-use plastic. It had earlier set an aim to remove all plastic from its own-label packaging by the end of 2023.
As part of the plan, the retailer last year removed single-use plastic carrier bags from all its stores and said it is working to explore non-plastic alternatives that meet the needs of customers and will support challenging consumer behaviour.
Earlier this year, Iceland has unveiled Northern Ireland’s first reverse vending machine, as part of its efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of single-use plastics.