Green packaging for Scots
Scottish shoppers will be the first to receive fully biodegradable food packaging from Sainsbury's.
From Wednesday 19 March 2008 all our Scottish Sainsbury's SO organic whole chickens will be sold in compostable trays instead of plastic - the first of its type for fresh meat - as it seeks to cut packaging waste.
Made from sugar cane, the packaging can be thrown straight into the compost heap or bin where it will decompose naturally in around eight weeks. James Laws, our Regional Sourcing Manager for fresh foods in Scotland said: "More of our shoppers are becoming increasingly aware not only about where their food is produced and supporting local producers, but also have concerns on landfill and deterioration of the environment.
Environmentally-friendly packaging is high on our agenda and with this new generation of compostable packaging we will significantly reduce the amount of plastic which threatens the Scottish environment. Over 7000 organic chickens are sold every week in Sainsbury's in Scotland and more than 100,000 Scots own a compost bin - this packaging hopes to save 9 tonnes per year (26kg, 182kg per week) waste out of landfill"
The launch comes on the back of the commitment we made in 2006, when we announced that 'more than 500 of its own-brand products will be sold in compostable packaging'.
This joint venture between Scotland's biggest organic chicken producers, Grampian Foods, Sainsbury's and supplier Natura ASP, has taken over two years to develop and implement into stores.
Scottish Sainsbury's SO organic chicken is 100% sourced from Scottish farms and is in all our stores throughout Scotland.
