Sainsbury's commitment to reducing its plastic consumption by 50%

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The British food retailer announced on Friday that it 's committed to cutting plastics by 50% in its business by 2025.

"We are well aware that it is ambitious because we currently use around 120,000 tons of plastic per year and reduce plastic packaging by about 1% per year," said the supermarket chain in a statement. .

Retailers and manufacturers are facing growing pressure from governments and consumers to reduce pollution. In the UK, concerns about plastics in the oceans have increased after the BBC broadcast Blue Planet II.

Plastics are one of the most important pollutants produced by humans in the marine environment, with nearly 2.4 million tons of oceans entering the rivers each year, according to an article published in Nature Communications.

More than 1.5 million people have signed a Greenpeace petition calling on British supermarkets to abandon disposable plastic packaging, the rights organization said.

Sainsbury's stated that his efforts would focus on plastic milk bottles, fruit and vegetable packaging and bottled beverages.

"Sainsbury's is exploring other solutions, including the introduction of rechargeable products [milk] bottles, by introducing returnable milk bottles or by offering a reusable jar with milk in a lightweight plastic pouch, "said the company.
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The plastic bins for fresh food would be replaced by recyclable alternatives by the end of 2019, which would save 6,000 tons of plastic. Plastic films on fruits and vegetables would be replaced by a recyclable alternative by the end of 2020.

Sainsbury & # 39; s (JSAIY) ranked last in a poll of Greenpeace published in March, which analyzed the public commitments made by large UK supermarkets in plastics.

After the publication of the survey, more than 95,000 people contacted Mike Coupé, CEO of Sainsbury, inviting him to act in the plastics field, according to Greenpeace.

Sainsbury's said early in the year that he was disappointed by the Greenpeace report. On Friday, the company denied falling behind its competitors.

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A spokeswoman for the company said that she had cleared the way by removing microbeads, or small pieces of plastic, from her own brand's products. She also said the chain was among the first to offer only cotton swabs.

The pledge announced Friday was a "win" for customers who had been pressuring Sainsbury's to do better in the plastics field, said Louise Edge, head of Greenpeace's Ocean Plastics Campaign UK in a statement sent by email.

"We congratulate Sainsbury's for listening and recognizing that the significant reduction in the amount of plastic and the introduction of large-scale refillable packaging are essential to cope with the crisis of the plastic pollution, "said Edge.

In a video posted on his website on Friday, Coupe said Sainsbury would work with Greenpeace and report on his progress every six months.
The United Kingdom's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Commission this week called on the UK government to focus on reducing all single-use packaging, and not only plastic.
Also this week, Nestle (NSRGF) It is committed to achieving zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, saying that climate change was one of the biggest risks for the future of its business.

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