Sainsbury’s reduces plastic waste by almost 700 tonnes through fish and chicken packaging revamp

• Sainsbury’s is pioneering the way in plastic reduction as the first retailer to introduce pulp trays for all of its salmon and trout products, which use 70 percemt less plastic and can be recycled at home
• Other packaging changes include replacing plastic trays with cardboard alternatives on all fresh breaded chicken and all fresh Taste the Difference breaded fish
• The changes represent another step towards Sainsbury’s commitment to reduce its plastic packaging and increase recyclability

Sainsbury’s is introducing a number of packaging changes across its own-brand chicken and fish lines, with the new packaging set to save 694 tonnes of plastic a year.

All own-brand salmon fillet trays are switching to pulp cardboard instead of plastic, a UK retailer first, which will result in 70 percent less plastic, saving 346 tonnes of plastic a year.

Alongside this, Sainsbury’s is rolling out cardboard trays across its Taste the Difference and by Sainsbury’s breaded chicken lines, set to save 300 tonnes of plastic a year. The retailer is also making the same changes to its Taste the Difference breaded fish fillets, set to save 48 tonnes of plastic a year.

What’s more, the new packaging will be rolling out throughout the summer across many seasonal chicken favourites, including Sainsbury’s delicious finger food and BBQ range. The more sustainably packaged range will offer breaded goujons, nuggets, schnitzels and more – perfect for easy hosting in the summer months.

The pulp cardboard trays from all salmon lines and cardboard trays across breaded chicken and fish are easily recyclable, helping customers to reduce their household waste by placing the packaging in kerbside recycling at home¹.

Claire Hughes, Director of Product and Innovation at Sainsbury’s, said: “With salmon being one of our most popular fish, we made it a priority to reduce the plastic on the packaging of this much loved product as we work towards our Plan for Better goals.

“We are now the first retailer to make the move to have recycled pulp card trays across all our by Sainsbury’s and Taste the Difference salmon products, enabling a whopping 70 percent plastic reduction. Together with changes to our breaded fish and chicken packaging, we are set to save 694 tonnes of plastic a year – a significant step towards our plastic reduction goals.”

Sainsbury’s recently launched its ‘Good to Know’ logo to help customers find products that are more sustainable, including those with reduced plastic packaging. The new logo is aimed to help customers understand the retailer’s work around sustainability and its work towards its Plan for Better ambitions. Customers will be able to find the ‘Good to Know’ logo on the latest packaging across its salmon products.

The announcements are the latest in a string of changes made by the retailer as part of its commitment to reduce its own-brand plastic packaging, such as the by Sainsbury’s plastic steak trays being replaced with cardboard alternatives. Additionally, Sainsbury’s recently made its greatest standalone plastics removal, by swapping plastic punnets for cardboard for all its own brand mushrooms, saving over 775 tonnes of plastic a year.

¹The tray can be recycled at home. The film packaging can be recycled at one of Sainsburys front-of-store flexible plastics recycling points (available in all Sainsbury’s UK supermarkets).