Tesco has launched a trial scheme that allows customers to remove and leave unwanted and excessive packaging behind for recycling .
The six-week pilot scheme is being run at Tesco Extra stores in Guildford, Surrey and Ilminster in Somerset.
Tesco said special in-store recycling points will make it quick and easy for customers to discard any excessive waste, although only plastic and paper packaging will be accepted.
The scheme, already run in Germany, aims to gauge public opinion on packaging and is just one of 3,500 recycling projects that Tesco currently operates.
Alasdair James, head of energy, waste and recycling at Tesco, said he believed the retailer was “taking the correct steps” to help customers reduce and recycle .
“We know our customers expect us to help them recycle and we have also committed ourselves to cutting our own waste. This unique pilot helps us do both.”
“Packaging left by our customers at the store will tell us a lot about areas we may need to look at again as well as where we have got it right”.
A recent Local Government Association survey found Tesco used the lowest amount of packaging on its products compared to other UK retailers, while a separate survey found nearly 70 per cent of consumers would be more likely to buy products with reduced packaging .
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