Cranswick has cut 450 tonnes of plastic from its supply chain since becoming a signatory to Wrap’s Plastics Pact in April.
The figure, released to coincide with Recycle Week (24-30 September), represents just over 3% of the company’s total plastic usage per year, working from a baseline of 13,163 tonnes.
Since signing the pact, the meat giant has implemented a series of initiatives such as removing single-use plastic items, using lighter plastics, removing unnecessary plastics from processing, and sourcing alternatives where possible.
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The processor has also teamed up with German packaging supplier Klöckner Pentaplast and other others to ensure all its trays will be 100% recyclable by January next year, with such trays already in use on its gourmet sausage range.
“Recycle Week is a great chance to look at the progress Cranswick has made in making the circular economy a reality,” said Cranswick group commercial director Jim Brisby.
“Through our peer-to-peer collaboration, I’m glad to see we are not just talking about change, but taking real steps in making it happen, and fast.”
Throughout Recycle Week, Cranswick has planned demonstrations with Klöckner Pentaplast to show a ‘closed loop circular economy’ in action. The two will collect plastic from Cranswick sites, then have it reprocessed into new recyclable packaging such as trays for fresh meat Cranswick supplies to Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and M&S.
It follows the supplier’s January commitment to ensure all its packaging would be 100% recyclable and sustainably sourced by 2025, while plastic waste would also be cut by 50% over the next seven years.
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The company, which turns over in the region of £1.45bn annually, has also stated its aim to end its use of PVC by the end of 2018.
Wrap director Peter Maddox hailed Cranswick’s achievements, saying he was “delighted” with the company’s commitment to tackling plastic waste as an “open and future-focused example for the food industry and beyond”.
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