Sainsbury’s has switched from plastic packaging to paper and cardboard on its prepared in-store bakery lines.
The swap to new recyclable packaging across its fresh doughnut, pastries and baguette lines would remove an estimated 560 tonnes of plastic from its stores each year, Sainsbury’s said.
Doughnuts prepared in store will now be sold in cardboard boxes, with a small plastic window. Twin-packs of pastries like croissants and cinnamon swirls will now be sold in paper bags. All were previously sold in plastic clamshell packaging, leading to a 90% reduction in plastic overall.
Freshly prepared bread loaves, baguettes and batons will now also be sold in recyclable paper bags, albeit with a small plastic window, rather than fully plastic bags. It would reduce plastic by around 60% Sainsbury’s said.
All the new packaging can be recycled from home, via the kerbside. The switches will be rolled into stores over the coming months.
It represents Sainsbury’s latest move on packaging, following the switch from plastic to pulped paper trays across its fish and poultry lines in June.
That followed earlier similar switches across its own label mushroom lines, toilet and kitchen roll wrapping and steak trays over the previous year, as well as a controversial, but now widely copied switch to vacuum packaging in its fresh mince lines in February 2023.
In 2019, the supermarket set the goal of reducing total plastic across its own brands by 50% by 2025, as part of its Plan For Better strategy. So far, it had reduced its total tonnage of own label plastic packaging by 16.4%, according to its latest sustainability report.
The packaging shift comes as Sainsbury’s continues with a wider “modernisation” of the way its in-store bakeries operate. Announced as part of its Next Level Strategy in February, the proposals aim to improve the availability and mix of products available throughout the day.
Sainsbury’s said at the time it would lead to an “unspecified” number of job losses within in-store bakeries.
No comments yet