Sainsbury’s to remove 140 tonnes of plastic from whole chicken range

The trayless products use a minimum of 50% less plastic and are available in all stores across the UK and online. The changes affect five products in total, including all By ​Sainsbury’s whole chickens ranging from extra0small to extra-large sizes.

The film packaging it still able to be recycled at one of Sainsbury’s front-of-store flexible plastics recycling points.

Sainsbury’s sustainability commitments

Sainsbury’s move away from plastic trays in its whole chicken range followed a raft of sustainability improvements in its commitment to halve its own-brand plastic packaging by 2025.

In February, the retailer removed traditional plastic tray packaging from its entire beef mince rage,​​ replacing it with a vacuum-packed alternative. Sainsbury’s said the move would save 450 tonnes of plastic annually.

Last month, Sainsbury’s removed single-use plastic lids from its own brand dip pots, including household favourites such as guacamole, tzatziki and sour cream and chive dip.

As part of its wider sustainability commitments, Sainsbury’s has made improvements to its chicken welfare standards, by moving all its fresh and frozen own brand by Sainsbury’s chicken to a lower stocking density. The move means its chickens now have 20% more space than the Red Tractor UK industry standard.

Packaging news

In other packaging sustainability news, cereal manufacturer The Weetabix Company has switched to 100% recyclable packaging for all products across its portfolio.

All paper-based packaging components and Weetabix On The Go drinks bottles are widely recyclable at home, and plastic wrap components can be recycled with soft plastics at most major supermarkets.

Meanwhile, with Global Recycling Day having just passed, Food Manufacture looked at the impact of plastic packaging, the key areas for improvement and the challenge of ditching virgin plastics.​​