Tesco has launched a new ‘tray to tray’ recycling initiative with sustainable packaging company Faerch.
The scheme is set to see secondary plastic packaging trays used for transporting and showcasing grocery products kept and recycled by the partnership.
The Big 4 grocer claims that the initiative is an industry first, which will take the plastic trays and make them into new food contact packaging including tubs, trays and boxes.
The retailer added that 30 per cent of produce, meat and yogurt packaging moving forward will be made from rPET sourced from its stores, guaranteeing that the trays are recycled into food-safe materials.
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The supermarket also said that the scheme will fill the gap in supply for PET bottle flakes following surging demand across producers.
“Wherever we can, we remove or reduce packaging but where it is needed we want to improve circularity and make our packaging as sustainable as possible,” Tesco sustainable packaging manager William Guest said.
“This collaboration with Faerch will ensure that each year 2000 tonnes of PET is recycled to make new Tesco packaging that otherwise would have been downcycled into non-food applications.”
Faerch group strategic sales director Matt Tollman added: “The ‘Tray 2 Tray by Faerch’ project demonstrates that PET packaging can be recovered and recycled at an industrial level and made back into food grade pots and trays.”
The partnership follows the supermarket’s previous efforts to improve its sustainability, including its soft plastic recycling initiative earlier this year and its partnership with Loop to promote reusable and recyclable packaging for its customers.
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