The Latest Plastic-Free Packaging Initiatives to Reach the Retail Marketplace

28 September 2021

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With the landscape of UK retailing shifting towards renewability and sustainability, there are new innovations and initiatives being unveiled virtually everyday.

But just in case you missed them, here are some of the biggest retail-related packaging announcements from the last two weeks:

That’s a wrap on single-use for one of Mondelēz International's biggest brands

Mondelēz International has announced that its Cadbury Dairy Milk wrappers, made in the UK, will soon use packaging comprised of 30% recycled plastic, covering over 28 million of the range's sharing bars.

The new initiative, set to take effect from 2022, is part of the company's larger efforts to reach a 5% reduction in the use of virgin plastic material in its overall plastic packaging by 2025.

Tesco introduce packaging reuse system for a range of products 

Tesco has partnered with Loop to create a packaging reuse system in ten of its stores in the east of England. The system will allow shoppers to purchase up to 88 products in packaging that can be returned to the store and cleaned, before it’s refilled for reuse. 

The platform will include a host of leading brands, including Carex, Brew Dog, Persil and Tetley Tea, along with 35 of Tesco’s own brands, and customers will be required to pay a refundable 20p deposit at checkout for each reusable product. Refunds are issued via the platform’s associated app upon return of the packaging.

Apple launch redesigned packaging for the iPhone 13 lineup 

Following a recent media announcement, Greg Joswiak, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Apple, announced that the tech giant has redesigned the packaging for its iPhone 13 lineup, scrapping the outer plastic wrapping that has been on all its phone boxes since the launch of the original iPhone, in 2007. 

The new redesign will enable the company to avoid creating 600 metric tons of plastic waste annually.

Morrisons to remove plastic packaging from one of its most popular products 

Bradford-based food retailer Morrisons has announced its plan to remove plastic packaging from bananas sold in its stores, ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. 

The move will see Morrisons become the first UK supermarket to rid itself of plastic for its bananas---to be replaced by paper bands. The switch will see 45 million single-use plastic bags removed from its stores annually, which is equivalent to 180 tonnes of plastic.  

Ocado switches from plastic to printed cardboard for its apple packaging

Ocado has introduced new sustainable packaging for its Granny Smith, Pink Lady and Golden Delicious apple varieties, following a trial conducted in July. 

The Pro-Produce pack, which is a printed cardboard construction, is fully recyclable and will eliminate nearly 12 tonnes of plastic reaching landfill annually. 

If your business is looking for sustainable alternatives to plastic packaging, contact us today (or phone 01543 396700) and find out how we can integrate paper-based solutions into your operation.

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