Thankfully, some supermarkets are changing the way some of their most popular items are packaged. One of these supermarkets is Sainsbury's, who, from today, are switching out single-use plastic trays for cardboard in their steak packaging.
The plastic trays often used to pack steaks in supermarkets will be removed in the By Sainsbury's range of steaks, which includes 10 products.
The supermarket estimates that this change will use 70% less plastic, and save over 10 million pieces of plastic every single year.
The cardboard packaging is already used on the Taste the Difference and Organic steak ranges, and the move comes as part of Sainsbury's commitment to reduce its own brand plastic packaging by half by 2025.
The new cardboard packaging is recyclable, it just needs to be rinsed before being put in a recycling bin.
Claire Hughes, Director of Product and Innovation at Sainsbury’s, says of the new launch: “As part of our Plan for Better commitments, we are trying to reduce plastic packaging across our own brand ranges, as we know that reducing plastic is important to our customers but also on our environmental impact.
"We’re pleased to save another 10 million pieces of plastic a year by swapping our by Sainsbury’s steak trays to cardboard following the changes we have already made on So Organic and Taste the Difference packaging . While we are making good progress, we know there is more to do and we are committed to making bold changes that help us achieve our plastic reduction targets," she says.
Earlier this year, Sainsbury's also went tray-less on their whole chickens, and removed plastic bags from its entire banana range. Sainsbury’s was also the first UK retailer to introduce cardboard cartons to its own-brand liquid laundry detergent range, saving 22 tonnes of plastic a year.
