UK retailer Tesco and packaging manufacturer Berry Global is turning soft plastics, collected from Tesco customers, into bin liners.
According to Tesco, the business has “rapidly” scaled up the amount of soft plastic collection points. It now collects plastic from customers for recycling in over 900 stores. To date, the retailer says it has collected over 850 tonnes of soft plastic.
25 to 30 tonnes per month of collected material, including bread bags, and fruit, vegetable and salad packaging, is currently being sent to Berry’s state-of-the-art recycling facility. There it is washed, scrubbed and dried. The resulting material is then turned into pellets, ready for manufacturing into bin liners.
To ensure it is a circular project, Tesco and Berry have worked together in partnership so that there is “full” traceability of the collected soft plastics through the supply chain.
To guarantee the liners have “suitable” strength, the Tesco recycled plastic pellet is blended with recovered agricultural films, such as baling wrap.
“After doing everything possible to remove and reduce plastic from our stores, we want to ensure that materials are recycled into new products and packaging,” says Tesco Sustainability Packaging Manager William Guest.
“Our soft plastic collection points help to plug the gap in the country’s recycling infrastructure, and when combined with initiatives like this, we meet our customers’ ask that materials do not go to waste.”