YEO Valley Organic 350g and 450g tubs of yoghurt are now utilising reusable lids available from the company’s online loyalty scheme by exchanging ‘Yeokens’.
Sebastian Rusu, head of brand planning & consumer communications, explained the business is saying goodbye to plastic lids on those tubs following successful trials removing clip lids from the Greek-style yoghurt range.
“Making this small change will remove 145 tonnes of plastic a year – that’s the equivalent of 188 Friesian cows, 24 African elephants or 17 tractors,” he added. “Sustainability is central to everything we do here at Yeo Valley.
“Being close to the farms, we see first-hand the incredible things nature can produce, and how humans can damage it. We always remind ourselves to put nature first, by playing our part in protecting and preserving the world for future generations and not controlling nature with chemicals, but working with it to create incredible food.
“Packaging is an important aspect of our overall sustainability strategy and one where we can make a significant difference with even small changes. We are working to ‘close the loop’ on our packaging. We are members of The UK Plastics Pact and have made good progress on our journey to ensuring that all of our plastic packaging is fully recyclable and made from recycled materials.”
A wide range of Yeo Valley Organic 350g and 450g yoghurts are sold in Greiner Packaging’s recyclable K3 cardboard-plastic cups. The plastic cup is made from 100% recycled PET, wrapped in cardboard made from FSC-certified material.
After use, consumers can tear the seam and remove the cardboard sleeve. Having rinsed the plastic pot clean, it then goes in the plastics bin, while the sleeve goes into the cardboard and paper recycling.
After each use, the reusable lids just need to be washed before being reused.
In the build-up to the change, products featured a message telling consumers that the old clip lids were going to be removed, but that they could obtain reusable lids via the Yeo Valley Organic website by using Yeokens. On almost every Yeo Valley pack, there is a code which can be redeemed online for Yeokens. These can be spent on goodies, discounts and days out, or used to play games and win prizes. They can also be used to make donations to Yeo Valley Organic’s chosen charities.
“K3 is one of the world’s most sustainable packaging solutions,” said Greiner Packaging UK & Ireland sales director Julie Eller. “We have worked with Yeo Valley Organic for many years and are proud to able to make a measurable contribution to the company’s sustainability goals.”
