It has been a good week for the circular economy.
Europe launched a comprehensive new strategy on plastics. And corporates, including McDonald’s and Danone made major commitments to go circular.
Major UK supermarket chain Iceland is also joining the growing sustainability club. It announced this week it will ‘eliminate plastic packaging from all of its own brand products by the end of 2023’.
Richard Walker, Iceland Managing Director said “we will also ensure that all our packaging is fully recyclable and that it is actually recycled”.
He added: “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. Other supermarkets, and the retail industry as a whole, should follow suit and offer similar commitments during 2018. This is a time for collaboration.
“There really is no excuse any more for excessive packaging that creates needless waste and damages our environment. The technologies and practicalities to create less environmentally harmful alternatives exist, and so Iceland is putting a stake in the ground.”
