New Quorn plastic packaging

Quorn said it had begun rolling out new clear and opaque packaging alternatives in April

Quorn will ditch black plastic from its packaging by the end of the month as part of a commitment to achieving 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging by 2025.

The meat alternative brand said today (6 June) it had begun the process of phasing out black plastic packaging in April. This change would replace 297 tonnes of black plastic with clear and opaque recyclable alternatives, supporting Wrap’s Plastics Pact initiative to eradicate unsustainable packaging.

“This step is part of the wider focus of the Quorn brand to be a leader in sustainable nutrition and is the first such significant effort to reduce, and eventually eliminate, black plastic from its supply chain by a major food brand,” it claimed.

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The move comes a week after Brakes made a similar commitment to eradicate black plastic by 2020, and follows pledges to end the use of non-recyclable plastic use by Iceland and the Co-op earlier this year. Wrap made its own plastic reduction commitment through the Plastics Pact, alongside almost 50 retailers and suppliers, in April.

“As a founding signatory of the Plastics Pact, we are very excited to announce this positive change towards increased sustainability of our products,” said Quorn CEO Kevin Brennan.

“Moving so quickly to remove black plastic is a significant challenge but one that, as a sustainable company, we view as being of the utmost importance. We view this as the right thing to do, despite the six-figure cost.”

The brand was “committed to reducing all forms of food waste in our supply chain and to promoting and advancing sustainability without passing the cost onto consumers”, he added.

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