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Tesco has pledged to remove one billion pieces of plastic from products stocked in its UK supermarkets by the end of 2020 as pat of its plan to tackle the use of plastics within its business.
The retailer will replace small plastic bags, used to pack loose fruit & veg and bakery items, with paper equivalents.
It will also get rid of plastic trays from ready meals, secondary lids on cream, yoghurts and cereals, sporks and straws from snack pots and drink cartons as well as 200m pieces of plastic used to pack clothing and greetings cards.
The move forms part of Tesco’s ‘4 R’s startegy’ - remove, reduce, reuse, recycle - as the grocer works towards the removal of non-recyclable and excess packaging from its stores.
Where impossible to remove plastic components, Tesco said it would work with suppliers “to reduce them to an absolute minimum”, exploring new opportuities to reuse packaging as part of a closed loop.
The retailer said it had held meetings with suppliers in August to inform them of the changes, making clear that it reserves the right to no longer stock products that use excessive or hard to recycle materials.
“If packaging can’t be recycled, it will have no place at Tesco,” it said.
CEO Dave Lewis said the business’s 4 R’s plan was “already transforming” Tesco’s packaging.
“Over the next twelve months, we will remove one billion pieces of plastic, further reducing the environmental impact of the products we sell,” he added.
“By focusing on solutions that we can apply across all our UK stores and supply chain, we can make a significant difference and achieve real scale in our efforts to tackle plastic.”
Since announicing its plans in 2018, Tesco has eliminated over 4,000 tonnes of hard-to-recycle materials from 800 lines by the end of 2019.
Tesco (TSCO) shares opened 0.4% at 236.10p each on Friday morning.
Morning update
Harrogate Water Brands has reported a 9% increase in revenues as it rapidly expands beyond its core UK market.
The Harrogate Spring Water and Thirsty Planet producer posted sales of £21.6m in the 12 months to 31 March 2019, up from £19.8m the prior year.
The company noted the 9% increase compared favourably with the 7% growth registered in the market [Zenith Global March 2019].
“Our continued strong performance reflects hard work and commitment across all areas of the business and our strength and agility across a number of sectors,” CEO James Cain said.
Over 87% of the company’s revenues were generated in the UK, but export sales rose rapidly during the year.
In this week’s issue of The Grocer, also read about Juul’s UK business racking up losses of £7.8m since launching in the country over a year ago, and the crowdfunding effort of premium pet food maker Devoted Pet Foods, looking to raise £100k to launch a DTC subscription model.
Visit https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/finance for more details.
The FTSE 100 opened 0.3% higher at 7,270.52pts.
Early risers included Hotel Chocolat (HOTC), up 1.3% at 447.85p, Associated British Food (ABF) up 0.7% at 2,242p, Imperial Brands (IMB) up 0.8% at 1,706p and C&C Group (CCR) up 0.8% at 383p.
Fallers included Britvic (BVIC) down 0.6% to 981p, Marks and Spencer (MKS) down 0.4% to 180.75p and Fevretree (FEVR) down 1% to 1,840.75p.
Yesterday in the City
The FTSE 100 closed down 1.1% at 7,248.38pts as investors across Europe feared continued tensions between the US and China.
In a mainly red index, Imperial Brands (IMB) closed down 3.3% to 1,692.40p, British American Tobacco (BATS) down 1.6% at 2,702p, Naked Wines (WINE) down 2.5% at 256.50p, and Hotel Chocolat (HOTC) down 2.9% at 442p.
Fevertree (FEVR) closed 2.1% lower at 1,860p, Sainsbury’s (SBRY) down 1.1% at 203.50p and Morrisons (MRW) fell 0.9% to 198.85p.
Among the few risers, McBride (MCB) closed 5.6% higher at 70.85p, Ocado (OCDO) was up 0.5% to 1,329p, Marks and Spencer (MKS) rose 0.7% to 181.50p and SSP Group (SSG) was up 1.4% to 637p.
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