Sainsbury’s is to remove plastic trays from its standard tier By Sainsbury’s own-label range of steaks in a move it said could save up to 249 tonnes of plastic a year.
From today (5 July), 10 products within the range will now be packaged using trays made from a cardboard alternative.
The new cardboard trays can be recycled at home in kerbside bins, Sainsbury’s said. It means the range’s packaging now uses 70% less plastic than its previous plastic tray-based format.
Sainsbury’s has previously swapped plastic for cardboard trays in its premium own label Taste The Difference and So Organic steak ranges.
“As part of our Plan for Better commitments, we are trying to reduce plastic packaging across our own brand ranges, as we know that reducing plastic is important to our customers but also on our environmental impact,” said Claire Hughes, Sainsbury’s director of product and innovation.
“It’s why we are always looking at ways to innovate our packaging and reduce or replace plastic wherever we can, as quickly as we can. We’re pleased to save another 10 million pieces of plastic a year by swapping our by Sainsbury’s steak trays to cardboard following the changes we have already made on So Organic and Taste the Difference packaging.
“While we are making good progress, we know there is more to do and we are committed to making bold changes that help us achieve our plastic reduction targets,” Hughes added.
The move represents the latest in a series of recent packaging changes accross Sainsbury’s meat ranges.
In April it removed plastic trays from its By Sainsbury’s range of whole chickens. It followed a controversial decision to switch to begin vacuum packing its own label mince range, in February.
Some customers complained the switch affected the consistency of the mince. However, Sainsbury’s defended the switch, which it said could save as much as 450 tonnes of plastic a year, and began handing out leaflets notifying customers of the change.
Sainsbury’s other moves on plastic also include the removal of plastic lids from its own label range of dips, and the launch of a range of concentrated, cartoned washing detergents.
But it’s not the first retailer to remove switch plastic for cardboard in its steak range. Both Aldi and Asda introduced cardboard packaging to some own-label steak ranges in 2019.
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