UK retailer Sainsbury’s has announced it is swapping traditional, plastic tray packaging used as part of its fresh lamb mince product for a vacuum-packed alternative.
The retailer said the new lamb mince packaging would save 26 tonnes of plastic annually with a minimum 65% reduction in plastic per product.
The new packaging has been rolled out across all Sainsbury’s fresh lamb mince products, available to purchase both in-store and online.
This comes as the retailer reported a successful trial of its vacuum-packed beef mince packaging, after being the first UK supermarket to implement the new packaging. Sainsbury’s said the packaging will contain the “same amount of lamb mince at the same quality”, with new QR codes on the packaging to provide advice on how to cook the mince.
Richard Crampton, director of Fresh Food at Sainsbury’s, said: “We know customers want us to reduce plastic packaging and that’s why we’re committed to making bold changes which benefit the environment as well as helping customers to reduce plastic waste at home. Once again, we’re the first major supermarket to switch to vacuum packed packaging on a popular product that our customers buy week in, week out. This change more than halves the plastic used in our lamb mince range.”
The packaging will be recyclable in-store at supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s flexible plastic recycling collection points available in all of its supermarkets.
