Sainsbury’s has announced it is to provide free reusable containers to shoppers this Saturday in a bid to build on the success of its eco-friendly milk bags .
On May 15 five hundred Sainsburys stores across the UK will give away the JUGIT containers, which are used to hold a milk bag and contain a spike that pierces the bag, forms a no-leak seal, and delivers milk through the spout.
Sainsbury’s milk bags have proved extremely popular with shoppers, with sales rising to 110,000 per week, double the company’s originally forecast. The retailer is hoping that the jug giveaway will encourage even more customers to go green.
The 2-pint milk pouches, which cost 6p less than a standard 2-pint bottle of milk, were introduced across stores nationwide in March as part of a wider drive by the supermarket chain to reduce packaging by a third by 2015.
Sainsbury’s predicts that switching from milk bottles to bags could save up to 1.4 million kg of packaging each year as each bag uses 75 per cent less packaging than standard plastic milk bottles .
Emma Metcalf-King, Sainsburys senior dairy buyer, said: “When we first launched milk bags in store, we gave one to every colleague to try. Their feedback was so positive that we wanted to do something to encourage our customers to give it a whirl too.
“Milk bags are a great way for us to help the environment and when you can pick one up in store for free, they’re a great way to help the family budget too.”
