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Iceland supermarket chain aims to be plastic free by 2023 | Iceland supermarket chain aims to be plastic free by 2023 |
(about 3 hours later) | |
Supermarket chain Iceland has said it will eliminate or drastically reduce plastic packaging of all its own-label products by the end of 2023. | |
Iceland says the move will affect more than a thousand own-label products. | |
New ranges will be packaged using a paper-based tray, rather than plastic. | |
It follows recent outcries over the packaging of cauliflower "steaks" and coconuts, and Sir David Attenborough's Blue Planet programme, which showed vivid images of plastic pollution. | |
Prime Minister Theresa May has called plastic waste "one of the great environmental scourges of our time". | Prime Minister Theresa May has called plastic waste "one of the great environmental scourges of our time". |
The UK uses 3.7 million tonnes of plastic a year, according to trade organisation Plastics Europe, and recent changes in China have made it more difficult to process. | |
Nigel Broadhurst, joint managing director of Iceland, explained the typical ready meal was packaged in particularly bad way: "Take a typical Iceland prepared meal, it is currently in a black plastic tray. That black plastic is the worst possible option in terms of toxins going into the ground and the ability to recycle that product." | |
He said there could be changes to other packaging in future: "Take oranges, they come in a net; apples come in a plastic bag. It doesn't take a lot of shift to expect that you could put an orange net round an apple." | |
The company says it is aiming to complete the change to its own-brand packaging within the next five years, removing plastics wherever feasible. | |
Iceland also said its research found that 80% of shoppers would endorse a supermarket's move to go plastic free. | Iceland also said its research found that 80% of shoppers would endorse a supermarket's move to go plastic free. |
The chain has also earlier supported the idea of a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles. | The chain has also earlier supported the idea of a deposit return scheme for plastic bottles. |
Mrs May has pledged to ban all avoidable plastic waste in the UK by 2042. | Mrs May has pledged to ban all avoidable plastic waste in the UK by 2042. |
In an attempt to tackle the problem, the PM has called on supermarkets to introduce "plastic-free" aisles, and to consider taxes and charges on single-use plastic items such as food containers. |