Reducing Plastic Waste, One Tray at a Time

Sainsbury's is taking a significant step towards reducing plastic waste by switching to cardboard trays for its own-brand chicken and fish products. This innovative move is expected to save 694 tonnes of plastic annually, a significant contribution to the retailer's goal of reducing plastic waste.

A First for UK Retailers

For the first time, a UK retailer is using pulp cardboard trays for all of its own-brand salmon fillets, a move that will reduce plastic use by 70%, saving 346 tonnes of plastic per year.

Cardboard Trays Across the Board

In addition to the salmon fillets, Sainsbury's is also introducing cardboard trays for its Taste the Difference and by Sainsbury's breaded chicken lines, which will save 300 tonnes of plastic annually. Similarly, the Taste the Difference breaded fish fillets will also be packaged in cardboard trays, saving an additional 48 tonnes of plastic each year.

Rolling Out Sustainable Packaging

The new packaging will be rolled out over the summer across many seasonal chicken products, including finger food and BBQ ranges. This includes breaded goujons, nuggets, schnitzels, and more. The pulp cardboard trays for salmon and cardboard trays for breaded chicken and fish are easily recyclable, allowing customers to reduce household waste by recycling the packaging in kerbside bins.

Expert Insights

"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 bySainsbury’s and Taste the Difference salmon products, enabling a whopping 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." says Claire Hughes, Director of Product and Innovation at Sainsbury's.