Supermarkets should stop selling fresh produce in plastic packaging to cut waste, Wrap warns

Linda Stewart — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 10:45:16 +0000

Supermarkets should stop selling fresh produce such as apples and potatoes in plastic packaging, research suggests, because it does not make them last longer and adds to pollution and food waste.
The 18-month study by the sustainability charity Wrap, which also looked at sales of bananas, broccoli and cucumbers, debunks the idea that single-use plastic wrappers help prevent waste.
Instead, this packaging often forces people to buy more than they need, increasing the problem of wasted food.
Marcus Gover, Wrap’s chief executive, said that while packaging was important and often carried out a critical role to protect food, its research had found that plastic wrap “doesn’t necessarily prolong the life of uncut fresh produce”, adding: “It can in fact increase food waste in this case.”
UK shoppers throw away almost half a million tonnes of fresh vegetables and salad and a quarter of a million tonnes of fresh fruit – worth a total of £2.1bn – each year because it has gone soft or mouldy, or the date label has expired. About one-third of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food and drink.
Packaging was found to be a less important part of the battle with food waste than other factors, such as enabling people to buy the right amount or how it was stored.
“We found that storing food in the fridge at below five degrees gave days, weeks, and, in the case of apples, months more quality product life,” said Gover.
“We found that for most items, the plastic packaging they were sold in made little or no difference to their shelf life.
“In cases where consumers had no choice but to buy more than they needed in pre-packed packaging, this could actually increase food waste,” he added.
Wrap studied the five items: apples, bananas, broccoli, cucumber and potatoes, stored in the original packaging and loose, and at different temperatures.
It calculated that if these five products were sold loose, and the best-before dates removed, it could save more than 10,300 tonnes of plastic and about 100,000 tonnes of food from being wasted each year – the equivalent of 14m shopping baskets of food.
The food waste was prevented because people bought the right amount and used their judgment, rather than date labels, to decide if food was still good. One in 10 people dump groceries based on the date, resulting in good food being thrown out.
As people faces rising fuel and food prices, there is a compelling economic as well as environmental case for ringing the changes in grocery aisles, Gover said, and retailers should step up and act on Wrap’s findings.
“This helps save the planet and us money at the same time,” he said.
Wrap said it will now consult the Food Standards Agency, Defra, and the food industry to make loose produce in supermarkets a reality by 2025.

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KP Snacks cut plastic packaging by 410 tonnes in 2021

Linda Stewart — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 12:41:02 +0000

KP Snacks has announced a 410 tonne reduction in plastic packaging in 2021, reducing consumer packaging by 6.8% across a number of brands.

The leading snacks business saved 142 tonnes of plastic across heritage brands Skips, Nik Naks and Space Raiders, freeing up space on retailers’ shelves and resulting in 644 fewer lorry journeys.

Additional packaging modifications also saw plastic reductions across McCoy’s, Hula Hoops and Butterkist, as well as KP Snacks market leading PMP range.

Meanwhile, the company also unveiled new modernised packaging for its iconic Hula Hoops brand, which hit the impressive £150m milestone earlier this year.

Rolling out from December, the new Hula Hoops packaging features vibrant colours, sharp graphics and bold patterns, enhancing the brand’s appeal to a wider audience. The eye-catching design and colours look to engage and disrupt shoppers, hinting at bold and tasty flavours that can be found within each pack.

As a well-loved and recognisable brand, the packaging refresh will build on Hula Hoops’ iconic look by bringing the entire range under a master-brand design, clearly communicating its sub-ranges and making it easier for consumers to navigate in store.

John McDougall, Brand Manager at KP Snacks, said: “Hula Hoops is an iconic brand and continues to be a dominant player in the CSN category, having recently surpassed the £150m RSV milestone. We are delighted to be reinvigorating the brand with an exciting packaging update across the entire range to continue driving its strong position.”

The move towards reducing packaging follows a 77 tonne packaging reduction in 2020 across Hula Hoops, Tyrrells, and popchips, the introduction of a KP Nuts’ fully recyclable Christmas nut caddy and a 100% recyclable KP Peanut Butter jar.

KP Snacks is also taking steps towards closing the loop on its packaging materials. It recently joined the Flexible Plastic Fund, a cross-industry collaboration managed by Ecosurety that is working towards a long term vision of a circular economy for flexible plastics. In collaboration with manufacturers, retailers and recyclers, the Fund will help to drive the development of UK infrastructure for flexible plastic recycling through collaboration and by providing financial incentives for recyclers.

KP Snacks has also partnered with TerraCycle® to support the recycling of bagged nuts, popcorn, crisps and pretzels packets nationwide. With locations around the UK, consumers can drop off their used KP Snacks packs for recycling. Through the TerraCycle® partnership, 13m snack packs have been recycled so far.

Nicola Robinson, Head of Sustainability at KP Snacks said: “We’re committed to lessening the environmental impact of our activities and this investment in reducing plastic across our portfolio is just the first step in this process.

“While reducing plastic in our supply chain is a key element of our approach, we also recognise our responsibility to help develop recycling solutions over the long term so that ultimately, we can turn our crisp packets back into new crisp packets. Achieving this will require deep collaboration across the value chain, which is why we’re proud to be a member of the Flexible Plastics Fund, as well as partnering with TerraCycle® to help support infrastructure development within the UK.”

The post KP Snacks cut plastic packaging by 410 tonnes in 2021 first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

plastic packaging - Neighbourhood Retailer

Supermarkets should stop selling fresh produce in plastic packaging to cut waste, Wrap warns

KP Snacks cut plastic packaging by 410 tonnes in 2021