UK – British multinational retailer, Marks & Spencer (M&S) has rolled out new recyclable packaging across its rice, grains, and pulses range as part of its plan for 100% of food packaging to be easily recyclable by 2025.
The new packaging will reportedly remove 5.5 million units of plastic and contain 90% less plastic by weight from the retailer’s product lines.
The move is part of the retailer’s Plan A target for 100% of food packaging to be easily recyclable by 2025. Alongside this, M&S has committed to removing 1 billion units of plastic from its food packaging by 2027.
Over 30 products, including basmati rice, couscous and red lentils, are now available in the paper-based bag.
Meanwhile, four products in M&S’ Collection range – Thai hom mali jasmine rice, aged basmati rice, Spanish bomba paella rice and Italian carnaroli risotto rice – are now fully plastic-free in paper boxes featuring a measuring lid.
Customers can recycle both of the new packaging types in their paper recycling bin at home, as opposed to returning to store as they had to do previously.
The paper-based bags contain a small plastic coating to preserve the quality of the food inside. This can be recycled in customers’ paper bins.
M&S Food technical director Andrew Clappen comments: “We need to transform how we make, move and sell our products to make sure M&S Food is as sustainable as possible. Tackling packaging is a huge part of that – we need to get creative in finding alternatives that our customers can easily recycle, that reduce plastic and that protect quality.
“We’re determined to do just that and reach our Plan A recyclability and plastic reduction targets. Our customers can be confident that sustainability is top of our list – as it is theirs.”
M&S joins Compostable Coalition UK
Meanwhile, M&S, Tesco and Ocado are among some of the first industry and packaging experts to be revealed as advisory board members for Compostable Coalition UK’s ‘Closing the Loop for Compostable Packaging’ research project.
The project, which is funded by UKRI’s £60 million Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge, is assessing whether existing collection and treatment streams in the UK can collect, sort, and recycle compostable packaging.
It aims to evaluate the potential of replacing hard-to-recycle plastic packaging with compostable alternatives and ensuring that they can be treated and organically recycled at end-of-life.
Tea bags, coffee pods, packaging for fresh produce and food service, and other hard-to-recycle packs are set to be assessed against WRAP and its Plastics Pact’s vision for the most sustainable compostable packaging applications.
Members of the Advisory Board will ensure that the research project is objective, empirically robust, and supports key stakeholders’ priorities and interests, including the attainment of the UK Plastics Pact’s compostability and circularity goals.
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