Deeside based supermarket chain Iceland pledges to go plastic free within five years

Deeside based supermarket chain Iceland has become the first major retailer to commit to eliminate plastic packaging for all its own-brand products within five years to help end the “scourge” of plastic pollution.

The company says the move will affect over a thousand of its own label products, current plastic packaging will be replaced with recyclable paper, pulp trays and paper bags.

Iceland recently carried out a survey in which 80% of 5,000 people polled said they would endorse the move to go plastic-free.

Last week, Prime Minister Theresa May has called plastic waste “one of the great environmental scourges of our time” and pledged to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within 25 years, the Government has also called for supermarkets to introduce “plastic-free” aisles.

Iceland managing director, Richard Walker, said:

“The world has woken up to the scourge of plastics. A truckload is entering our oceans every minute, causing untold damage to our marine environment and ultimately humanity – since we all depend on the oceans for our survival.

“The onus is on retailers, as leading contributors to plastic packaging pollution and waste, to take a stand and deliver meaningful change.”

He also said Iceland would ensure all packaging was fully recyclable and would be recycled, through support for initiatives such as a bottle deposit return scheme for plastic bottles.

As it was technologically and practically possible to create less environmentally harmful alternatives, “there really is no excuse any more for excessive packaging that creates needless waste and damages our environment”, Walker added.

Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven, said:

“Last month a long list of former heads of Britain’s biggest retail groups wrote a joint statement to explain that the only solution to plastic pollution was for retailers to reject plastic entirely in favour of more sustainable alternatives like recycled paper, steel, glass and aluminium.

“Now Iceland has taken up that challenge with its bold pledge to go plastic free within five years.

“It’s now up to other retailers and food producers to respond to that challenge.”

Iceland has already removed plastic disposable straws from its own label range and new food ranges in the next few months will use paper-based food trays.