Waitrose vows to halve packaging by 2016

UK retailer Waitrose has announced plans to cut its packaging in half by 2016. It has also revealed three major changes to its product ranges that it says will save nearly 100 tonnes of packaging each year.

The Menu from Waitrose range of prepared meals has been relaunched with a full redesign and packaging update for all of the 49 products within the range. The width of the sleeves on the outside of the products has been decreased, resulting in a reduction of 33 tonnes of packaging per year – equivalent to a 20 per cent overall weight saving.

The retailer has also introduced aluminium trays, lacquered both internally and externally, for ready meals. This means that customers can cook and serve the meals in the same tray and are still able to recycle it after use.

The Good to Go range of 190 snacks and sandwiches has also been relaunched, with packaging reductions totalling 25 tonnes per year.

Changes include increasing the size of the clear window on sandwiches to allow better visibility of the product, cutting 11 tonnes of packaging per year. And preprinted bags for fruit portions have also been developed, saving 60 per cent of the weight by taking off the label.

Finally, ‘flow wrap’ packaging been gradually rolled out for all meat. By removing the plastic tray in the packs of pork and lamb, Waitrose says it will cut back on 38 tonnes of packaging per year – a 70 per cent saving.

“We are always working hard to reduce packaging where we can, to decrease the waste reaching our customers’ bins and ensure they can recycle as much as possible,” says Waitrose packaging and reprographics manager Karen Graley. “Relaunching a range is a fantastic opportunity to do this, and cutting packaging by nearly 100 tonnes per year is a great result to have achieved on our journey to halving packaging by 2016.”