Sainsbury’s has announced it is switching its own-brand mushroom punnets from plastic to cardboard, which the supermarket says will save over 775 tonnes of plastic.
By the end of January, the supermarket says it will have rolled out the different packaging for all its 13 own-brand lines in what Sainsbury’s calls the “biggest ever single plastics removal” in its history. Sainsbury’s says it will be the first UK retailer to roll out cardboard punnets for all mushrooms across all its stores.
Customers can currently purchase bySainsbury’s and SO Organic mushrooms in cardboard punnets in all stores and online, and the change will affect Taste the Difference lines by the end of January.
Claire Hughes, Director of Product and Innovation, said: “As part of our Plan for Better commitments, we are trying to reduce plastic packaging across our own brand ranges. We are delighted to introduce cardboard punnets for our own-brand mushrooms.
As part of our Plan for Better commitments, we are trying to reduce plastic packaging across our own brand ranges.
“Making a collective effort with suppliers to increase recycled content and recyclability for all customers has helped achieve our biggest ever plastics removal so far. The initiative reflects our commitment towards a healthier and more sustainable future as we continue to look at ways to innovate our packaging and reduce and replace plastic where possible.”
The film packaging can be recycled at one of Sainsbury’s front-of-store flexible plastics recycling points (available in all Sainsbury’s UK supermarkets), the retailer says.
The announcement follows Sainsbury’s removing plastics from all its toilet and kitchen roll products, which it says saved around 485 tonnes of plastic annually. The supermarket chain also removed plastic trays from its tomatoes in 2020 and asparagus in 2019, which it says saved around 75 tonnes of plastic and around 32 tonnes of plastic a year respectively.
