Sainsbury’s is introducing significant packaging changes across its own-brand chicken and fish lines, aiming to save 694 tonnes of plastic annually. All own-brand salmon fillet trays are switching to pulp cardboard instead of plastic, marking a first for UK retailers. This change will result in a 70% reduction in plastic, saving 346 tonnes of plastic per year.
Additionally, Sainsbury’s is rolling out cardboard trays for its Taste the Difference and Sainsbury’s breaded chicken lines, projected to save 300 tonnes of plastic annually. Similar changes are being made to the Taste the Difference breaded fish fillets, which will save 48 tonnes of plastic each year.
The new packaging will also be introduced throughout the summer for many seasonal chicken favorites, including Sainsbury’s finger food and BBQ range. This range, featuring breaded goujons, nuggets, schnitzels, and more, will offer more sustainable packaging options, ideal for summer hosting.
The pulp cardboard trays from all salmon lines and cardboard trays across breaded chicken and fish are easily recyclable, allowing customers to reduce household waste by placing the packaging in kerbside recycling at home.
Claire Hughes, director of product and innovation at Sainsbury’s, said, “With salmon being one of our most popular fish, we made it a priority to reduce the plastic on the packaging of this much-loved product as we work towards our Plan for Better goals.
“We are now the first retailer to make the move to have recycled pulp card trays across all our by Sainsbury’s and Taste the Difference salmon products, enabling a 70% 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 launched its ‘Good to Know’ logo to help customers find products that are more sustainable, including those with reduced plastic packaging. The new logo aims to help customers understand the retailer’s sustainability efforts and its work towards its Plan for Better ambitions. Customers will be able to find the ‘Good to Know’ logo on the latest packaging across its salmon products.
These changes are part of Sainsbury’s ongoing commitment to reduce its own-brand plastic packaging. Previous initiatives include replacing plastic steak trays with cardboard alternatives and swapping plastic punnets for cardboard for all own-brand mushrooms, saving over 775 tonnes of plastic annually.