Supermarket chain Sainsburys has revealed new plans to reduce the weight of their packaging a third by 2015.
As part of a new environmental strategy, the retailer said it would also consider recycling and carbon emissions to achieve its 50,000-tonne target.
Sainsbury’s, Britain’s third largest supermarket, had previously set a packaging weight reduction target of 5 per cent, relative to turnover, by 2010 compared to 2004 levels.
Speaking to packagingnews.co.uk, Stuart Lendrum, Sainsbury’s Head of Print and Packaging, said: “We agree packaging is not just about weight and will consider all relevant metrics to deliver our aim of a 33 per cent reductions on 2009 levels.”
In an effort to meet its target, the company recently confirmed it would become the first UK retailer to replace boxes for its own-brand cereals with recyclable plastic bags, following a successful trial with its Rice Pops cereal .
The supermarket has also replaced plastic milk bottles with two-pint polythene bags, which it claims use 75 per cent less packaging .
Earlier this week, consumer group Which? revealed that Sainsbury’s had the lightest packaging out of all the major supermarket groups. It found that the total packaging weight of 27 own-brand items amounted to 369g, 46g lighter than M&S which fared the worst.
