Sainsbury’s UK has announced it is removing plastic trays from its Sainsbury’s steak range, replacing them with a cardboard alternative that uses 70 percent less plastic.
The new trays will launch across ten products in the range and be available in all stores and online from July 5th. They can be recycled at home by rinsing the cardboard before placing it in a curbside recycling bin.
Sainsbury’s introduced cardboard tray packaging to its Taste the Difference and So Organic steaks previously.
The announcement is the latest in a string of changes made by the retailer on the packaging. In April, Sainsbury’s went trayless on whole chickens and removed plastic bags from its entire banana range earlier this year, saving 192 tonnes of plastic. Sainsbury’s was the first UK retailer to introduce cardboard cartons to its own-brand liquid laundry detergent range saving 22 tonnes of plastic annually.
Claire Hughes, Director of Product and Innovation at Sainsbury’s, said that as part of Sainsbury’s Plan for Better commitments, the retailer is trying to reduce plastic packaging across its brand ranges, as it knows that reducing plastic is essential to its customers but also on its environmental impact.
“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,” said Hughes.
“We’re pleased to save another 10 million pieces of plastic a year by swapping our Sainsbury’s steak trays to cardboard following the changes we have already made on So Organic and Taste the Difference packaging.”
Hughes continued that while the retailer is making good progress, it knows there is more to do, and it is committed to making bold changes that help it achieve its plastic reduction targets.
