Asda is replacing coloured milk bottle tops with clear caps across its own-label fresh milk to recycle 207 million pieces of plastic every year.
Rolling out across its skimmed, semi-skimmed, whole, organic and filtered milk, the change will mean that 268 tonnes of High-Density Polythene (rHDPE) can be recycled to make new milk bottles.
While both the coloured caps and clear lids are fully recyclable and made of 30% recycled material, the Big 4 grocer’s switch to natural-coloured caps means that they can easily be recycled back into food grade packaging.
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In partnership with dairy cooperative Arla, the change will be taking place in Asda stores from this month and will also affect Yeo Valley fresh milk.
Customers will now be able to distinguish between the different varieties by the coloured labelling on all milk bottles.
“At Asda, we are committed to finding ways to reduce our environmental impact. The introduction of clear caps on our milk bottles, is part of our wider commitment to drive 100% recyclability packaging and increase recycled content levels across all of our products by 2025,” Asda lead packaging strategy and innovation manager, Fiona Dobson, said.
This comes as Aldi announced it would be scrapping its coloured milk caps earlier this week in a bid to further improve the recyclability of its milk cartons.
Wrap strategic technical manager of plastics, Jayne Paramor said: “We applaud Asda on their decision to join the growing group of UK retailers who are removing pigments from their milk bottle caps.
“This small but impactful change is helping to make the UK’s milk bottles – which are already widely recycled into new milk bottles and a fantastic example of the circular economy for plastics in action – even more recyclable.”
