Iceland aims to be plastic-free by 2023
Iceland, the UK’s leading frozen food specialist, is committing to become the first major retailer globally to eliminate plastic packaging from all of its own brand products by the end of 2023.
The process starts now and Iceland is challenging itself to complete it within the next five years.
Iceland’s pledge will be an important step towards cutting down on the 1 million tonnes1 of plastic generated by supermarkets in the UK each year. In its place, Iceland will be harnessing the latest technologies to create a range of packaging comprising paper and pulp trays along with paper bags which are fully recyclable through domestic waste collection or in-store recycling facilities, and therefore less harmful to the environment.
Iceland has already removed plastic disposable straws from its own label range. And its new food ranges, which are set to hit the shelves in early 2018, will feature paper-based rather than plastic food trays.
The supermarket will be providing regular updates on key milestones during the next five years as it transitions to plastic-free packaging.
In Belfast, one of the stores has a new vending machine , which rewards customers for recycling plastic bottles.
The reverse vending machine, which is a first for Northern Ireland, rewards customers with coupons for the store, at a rate of 10p per bottle.
The retailer said an average of 2,583 bottles were recycled each day of its six month trial of the scheme in Great Britain.
Iceland Managing Director, Richard Walker, a passionate advocate of environmental awareness and sustainability, is driving this initiative to demonstrate the potential for the entire supermarket retail sector to go plastic-free as far as possible.
Richard Walker comments: “The world has woken up to the scourge of plastics. A truckload is entering our oceans every minute3, causing untold damage to our marine environment and ultimately humanity – since we all depend on the oceans for our survival.
“The onus is on retailers, as leading contributors to plastic packaging pollution and waste, to take a stand and deliver meaningful change. Other supermarkets, and the retail industry as a whole, should follow suit and offer similar commitments during 2018. This is a time for collaboration.
“There really is no excuse any more for excessive packaging that creates needless waste and damages our environment. The technologies and practicalities to create less environmentally harmful alternatives exist, and so Iceland is putting a stake in the ground.”
