According to a statement issued by the UK retailer, it will be removing plastic on all of its label products within five years, replacing it with recyclable paper bags, and pulp and paper trays.
In a step that would put pressure on other supermarkets to follow suit, Iceland has committed that it would eliminate plastic packaging on all its brand products by the end of year 2023. The supermarket says that this decision would go a long way in ending the “scourge of plastic pollution.
Giving us an insight on how it would move forward with this decision, Iceland says it plans to replace plastic with pulp and paper trays, as well as paper bags. All these materials are environment-friendly as they can be recycled either through in-store recycling facilities and domestic waste collections.
Although the decision would be implemented by the end of 2023, its ramifications will start becoming visible in the coming months. For, Plastic disposable straws have already been replaced from Iceland’s label range whereas plastic food trays will be replaced by their paper-based counterparts in the next few months.
Apart from being on good terms with the Government, this decision by Iceland has come at a time when there is overwhelming public support for phasing out plastic. A survey carried out by the supermarket found 80% of 5,000 people polled suggesting that they would endorse the supermarket’s decision of phasing out plastic.
This is not the first time that Iceland has decided to embark on environment-friendly initiatives. In the past, Iceland joined the Co-op chain to support UK Government’s initiative of Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
The DRS requires the consumers to pay a little extra amount on each plastic bottle they are going to buy. This price is refundable, and the consumers can get it back once the vacant bottle is returned. The decision was taken to prevent damage to eco systems, as UK alone discards 16 million plastic bottles every single day.
The move of the company has come at a time when China has announced that it would no longer take the plastic waste of the UK for recycling. In other words, the big businesses will now have to clean up their own act.
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