// Tesco plans to remove 1bn plastic pieces from UK stores by end of next year
// The initiative is part of Tesco’s “Four Rs” strategy – remove, reduce, reuse or recycle
Tesco has revealed plans to remove one billion pieces of plastic from products in its UK stores by the end of 2020.
The Big 4 leader is scrapping plastic trays from ready meals, secondary lids on products such as cream and yogurts, straws from drink cartons, forks from snack pots, and small plastic bags used to carry loose fruit and vegetables.
The initiative is part of Tesco’s “Four Rs” strategy – remove, reduce, reuse or recycle – to scrap all non-recyclable and excess packaging.
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In August, Tesco was in talks with 1500 of its suppliers about the initiative, and is now working with them to provide alternatives to hard-to-recycle plastics.
Tesco is also urging the government to introduce national infrastructure for recycling and has offered to help by handing over car parking space for recycling.
“Our work to remove, reduce, reuse and recycle is already transforming our packaging. Over the next 12 months, we will remove one billion pieces of plastic, further reducing the environmental impact of the products we sell,” Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said.
“By focusing on solutions that we can apply across all our UK stores and supply chain, we can make a significant difference and achieve real scale in our efforts to tackle plastic.”
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3 Comments. Leave new
Shouldn’t all these companies who have been polluting the earth for decades now take more responsibility?! Are they making any efforts to actually clean up the oceans/streets/whatever? Walk round a city centre (Bradford) and all you see is McDonalds litter strewn about the place, Coca Cola bottles, takeaway boxes.
Shouldn’t they be partly responsible for all this waste?
@David: I don’t think so. It isn’t McDonald’s or Coca-Cola who polute the town. This is done by the irresponsible people of Bradford who can’t be bothered to take their rubbish a few yards to the next bin. And if you sell them glass bottles instead of plastic bottles they will throw the glass bottles away. We would need a DRS not only for bottles but for all take-away packs to reduce this issue.
and get rid of meat too. that would help.