Retailer Tesco and packaging manufacturer Mondi have partnered to produce food-safe paper shopping bags out of Tesco’s warehouse corrugated waste.
The closed loop paper shopping bags have been rolled out in Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia so far.
This is the first time that Tesco has collaborated directly with a paper producer to turn its paper waste into a renewable resource in line with its circular economy goals.
Produced at Mondi’s mill in the Czech Republic, the bags use a combination of fresh fibre, as well as recycled fibre from Tesco Central Europe’s warehouses.
Mondi speciality kraft paper sales director Paulus Goess said: “Our EcoSolutions approach means we collaborate very closely with our customers to create the best possible products for their needs – using paper where possible and plastic where useful.
“We have been working on this project with Tesco for over two years, with the aim of reusing their warehouse waste to create a quality product that is strong in terms of performance, based on renewable resources, uses recycled materials and can be fully recycled and ultimately contribute to a circular economy.
“Our strong EcoVantage paper allows customers to reuse the shopping bag multiple times despite the recycled content and Tesco encourages its customers to do so.”
