Supermarkets Vow To Ban Black Plastic By The End Of The Year

Supermarkets Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose will ditch black plastic in their own products by the end of this year, according to a new report.

An article in industry magazine The Grocer, states the four supermarkets are taking the lead from Morrisons, which announced its own plans to scrap black plastic last week.

PA

Black plastic is harder to recycle than the clear stuff due to the carbon pigment inside, this means it ends up either being incinerated or dumped in landfill, which is, of course, a nightmare for the planet.

So, as we're all trying to reduce, reuse and recycle, the supermarkets are also stepping up and now a number of them have vowed to ban this particular plastic from the packaging of their own-brand products.

Aldi and Iceland have both previously said they will be getting rid by the end of next year.

As well as promising to get rid of it in their own products, the report claims Tesco is also 'working with branded suppliers to do the same', while Asda said it had already managed to do away with the equivalent of '775 tonnes of previously unrecyclable plastic'.

Waitrose said it was 'well on track' to removing black plastic, after ditching almost 90 percent already.

And Sainsbury's had a similar story and also promised it would have a full ban in place by the end of 2019.

PA

Back in 2018, Lidl became the first UK supermarket to remove black plastic from all its fruit and vegetable packaging.

Speaking at the time, Ryan McDonnell, Lidl's commercial board director, said: "This significant move away from black plastic demonstrates our dedication to tackling this important topic.

"We recognise the current challenge that black plastic presents to the recycling industry, which is why we have made it our priority to remove it from our fresh ranges.

"As part of our commitment to achieving our ambitious targets, we are continually exploring opportunities to cut our packaging, and where packaging is necessary to protect food and minimise food waste, we will ensure that it is reusable, refillable or recyclable."

It's good to see some of the big names are willing to make a step in the right direction.

Topics: uk news, trash isles

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19