Supermarket Soft Drinks

It said the move would help to tackle plastic pollution and help keep a lid on price rises

Tesco has announced it is scrapping multipacks of its own label drinks to slash plastic use.

However, the retailer said it would sell individual cans at the same price per unit as multibuys and would for the first time allow customers to mix and match different products.

It said the move would help to tackle plastic pollution and help keep a lid on price rises.

Tesco said the move would begin with 12 million pieces of plastic a year being saved by the removal of packaging on all own-brand canned fizzy drinks.

The multipacks of four, which used to cost £1, will now be sold at 50p per can or four for £1.

Tesco said a further 33 million pieces of plastic would be removed in the autumn as plastic multipacks were removed from kids’ lunchbox drinks, energy drinks, water and fruit juices.

Shoppers will be able to mix and match purchases including lemonade, cola, ginger beer, soda and tonic water.

It is Tesco’s latest big move to reduce plastic.

In January 2020 it removed multipack wraps from all its tins, including branded and own-brand beans, soup, and tuna. And in May last year it stopped selling beers and ciders in soft plastic multipack wraps.

“Customers are focused on getting great value right now, but they still want to use less plastic,” said Tesco head of packaging development Johnny Neville.

Not only is this move great news for the environment but it will also offer customers more choice and flexibility when it comes to fizzy drinks – at no extra cost. It could even work out much cheaper for customers who want a variety of drinks.”

“Basically, it’s more choice, same value but less plastic.”