TESCO has warned that it will stop stocking brands which use excessive packaging for their products.
Dave Lewis, Tesco CEO, said, “From next year, we will assess packaging as part of our ranging decisions, and if it’s excessive or inappropriate, we reserve the right not to list it. Through the lens of Remove, Reduce, Reuse & Recycle we can transform our approach to packaging.”
The move comes on the back of the supermarket’s initiative to stop using hard to recycle plastics in their own brand packaging. Tesco anticipate that over 4,000 tones of materials will have been removed from their own brand lines come the end of 2019.
With 3,400 stores across the UK, Tesco are now calling on brands to follow suit and move to more sustainable packaging. Dave Lewis added, “In the first quarter of 2018 we audited all packaging materials in our business and set ourselves a challenge to remove all hard to recycle material by 2019; we’re on track for Tesco own brand and we’re working with branded suppliers to deliver the same.”
Further to this, they have also called on government to introduce a national collection and recycling infrastructure to deliver a closed loop for packaging.
Dave Lewis said, “Without a national infrastructure, industry efforts to improve the recyclability of materials used in packaging will be a drop in the ocean. In January 2018, we called on the Government to introduce this infrastructure and offered to help, including giving space in our car parks for recycling and testing the collection of materials not currently recycled by local councils. That invitation stands and the need for action has never been more pressing.”
