Sainsbury’s cuts 70 percent of plastic in fish and chicken packaging

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has announced that it making sustainable changes to its fish and chicken packaging, with the adaptations cutting plastic waste by 694 tonnes per year.

The retailer claims its is the first to introduce pulp trays for all of its salmon and trout products and says that this packaging uses 70 percent less plastic and can also be recycled at home.

In addition, the supermarket is making further packaging changes to its fresh breaded chicken and all fresh Taste the Difference breaded fish, through replacing plastic trays with cardboard alternatives.

UK consumers won’t have to wait long to see the update for themselves, as the new packaging will be rolled out throughout summer 2024.

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Commenting on the sustainable packaging change, 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 whopping 70 percent 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.”

In addition, Sainsbury’s has been keeping shoppers in the loop with sustainable updates to its products by launching a ‘Good to Know’ logo to support consumers in finding the items that are “more sustainable”.

“The new logo is aimed to help customers understand the retailer’s work around sustainability 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,” added the retailer.