A week is a long time in politics. As we were saying last week, the scale of Theresa May’s pledge to rid society of the “scourge of plastic waste” looked ambitious given the PM’s to-do list, what with Brexit, a divided party, a divided country, inter alia.
There was also a question over the 25-year timeframe: on the one hand, lobby groups were suggesting this wasn’t quick enough; on the other, since it’s uncertain whether even this most dogged of politicians will last 25 weeks, why was she exposing herself to ridicule over what was so obviously a hastily redrawn and ill thought through plan? (Even the co-founder of A Plastic Planet, from whom she’d borrowed her idea for plastic-free supermarket aisles, admitted the plan was unsustainable.)
But wait! What’s this? Along comes Iceland MD Richard Walker, on his white charger. He throws down the gauntlet - to rival retailers and suppliers - with a bold plan to banish plastic from Iceland own-label ranges - within five years.
It’s been a PR masterstroke, and a far cry from the Kerry Katona years. That’s not meant to sound cynical either. Iceland has shown real leadership on this issue. Unlike the PM, it’s clearly given this some thought. And Richard Walker has agreed to be The Grocer’s guest editor next week so you can quiz him on the plans.
Meanwhile, Iceland’s rivals - even Aldi, Lidl and latterly Tesco, which have developed some impressive public affairs initiatives - have been completely outmanoeuvred. As to Asda’s latest move - switching its own-label cider vinegars from a plastic bottle to a glass one - it’s laughable.
As Defra, Wrap and the EU wrestle with developing a circular plastic packaging economy, saying you will make sure plastic packaging is all recyclable by 2025 or 2030 is not going to cut it. Because if retailers don’t fix this, no one will. Iceland’s answer is not plastic-free aisles - because if you give the consumer a choice they will (except for a few) always opt for convenience - but more ambitious investments in new packaging technologies (eg cellulose-based biofilms), while also not being afraid to look again at paper bags and trays.
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