Tesco has ended its one-year in-store trial with Loop, the zero-waste refill service initially hailed as “ground-breaking”, which allowed shoppers to buy products in reusable packaging.
Initially launched in ten Tesco stores as part of the supermarket’s 4R ‘Remove, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ plan to transform packaging, the initiative allowed consumers to buy a range of products in reusable packaging that can be returned, cleaned, refilled and used again.
The trial, which initially launched last September, has now come to an end.
A statement on Tesco’s website says it will now reflect on the insights collected as it “takes what we’ve learnt and plan the next phases of our work to introduce reusable packaging solutions”.
It also thanked all the customers who had taken part, saying they had helped the supermarket to “speed up our progress towards more sustainable packaging solutions”.
The zero-waste business Loop also said the results of the trial had been “very encouraging” and that “the majority of customers highlighted their appetite to see our scheme develop”.
Customers who have been using the Loop packaging have until 31 October to return their packaging to one of the return points in-store.
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When the trial was first introduced, the move was hailed as “ground-breaking”, with Tesco CEO Ken Murphy adding that the retailer was “determined to tackle plastic waste”.
“One of the ways we can help is by improving reuse options available to customers,” he said at the time, while also highlighting that Tesco planned to “learn as much as we can from this to inform our future packaging plans”.
Recent moves to help reduce Tesco’s plastic waste – such as the Better Baskets initiative and a focus on other packaging, recycling and sustainability changes – have recently taken centre stage as the UK’s largest supermarket continues to step up its campaign against unnecessary plastic.
It’s likely that – despite requiring a minimal deposit and offering the refill products at a “comparable price to the original” – shoppers’ perception of the scheme as being more expensive may have acted as a barrier to uptake, particularly as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite.
Tesco chief communications officer Alessandra Bellini recognised the challenge of balancing sustainability with cost earlier in the year, when she said: “We understand customers want to make better choices but not pay more for it… Right now, every little helps.”
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