Sainsbury’s replaces plastic coffee pods with aluminum in a bid to drive recycling

UK – Leading UK supermarket, Sainsbury’s has announced it is ditching the plastic from its home brand coffee pod range and switching to aluminum pods so customers can recycle using standard recycling services.

The retailer said that the transition to fully recyclable aluminum pods will save more than ten million pieces of plastic a year.

The new pods are home recyclable with a pod recycling device or can be emptied with a teaspoon and rinsed before being placed for kerbside recycling.

Customers can also use a Dualit EcoPress to ensure the coffee is separated and removed from the aluminum, making it ready for recycling.

New aluminium packaging means pods are now fully recyclable and will help to save over 10 million pieces of plastic each year.

Recyclable pods are being introduced for all the retailer’s coffee products, including Signature Light Roast and Ristretto. They can be bought in packs of ten or 30 pods.

The move comes after Sainsbury’s became the first retailer in the UK to label its own-brand aluminium coffee pods as recyclable last year.

It represents the retailer’s latest plastic reduction initiative as part of its ongoing commitment to reducing its own-brand plastic packaging by 50% by 2025.

In addition to the aluminium pods, Sainsbury’s has reduced its use of cardboard boxes and cases across its coffee pod range by more than 20%.

In June this year, the retailer launched own-brand refillable handwash pouches, which are expected to save a total of 28 tonnes per anum (TPA) of plastic and cost 35% less than other equivalent bottles.

The one-liter pouches also use 85% less plastic than the equivalent number of Sainsbury’s 250ml The Collection bottles as a proportion of plastic weight.

In July, Sainsbury’s also introduced own-brand double-length toilet rolls to reduce plastic packaging by 30%.

The multipack rolls each have twice as many sheets as the standard version and use an average of 30% less plastic, which could save an estimated 84t of plastic.

Meanwhile, the retailer also joined other supermarket chains to ditch “best before” dates as part of plans to reduce food waste.

Sainsbury’s said the move is part of its pledge to halve food waste in its own operations by 2030, which could help UK households to save 11,000 tonnes of food a year.

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