Sainsbury’s claims to have removed plastic weighing the same as 99 large elephants through a range of packaging changes for chicken and fish.
The supermarket giant said using cardboard trays for various own-brand lines would save 694 tonnes of plastic, which it divided by the upper mass limit for the large African mammal.
Sainsbury’s will switch to pulp cardboard for salmon fillets, and cardboard for certain breaded chicken and fish fillets.
The new packaging will also be rolled out throughout the summer across many seasonal items such as the supermarket’s finger food and BBQ ranges.
Claire Hughes, director of product and innovation at Sainsbury’s, said salmon was “one of our most popular fish” and thus a “priority” for sustainability efforts.
“We are now the first retailer to have recycled pulp card trays across all our By Sainsbury’s and Taste the Difference salmon products, enabling a whopping 70 per cent 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 swapping plastic punnets for cardboard on all its own-brand mushrooms, saving over 775 tonnes of plastic a year.
