Tesco to launch PET 'pallet-to-pallet' recycling scheme in partnership with sustainable packaging supplier

Supermarket chain Tesco and sustainable packaging solutions company Faerch have teamed up to repurpose existing trays into new food contact trays for a variety of supermarket products
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It is reported that this is an industry first, not only in the UK but across Europe
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The companies said PET tray packaging (used to transport products in UK supermarkets) is often recycled and downgraded to non-food applications
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The new "tray to tray" program collects used PET trays and uses Faerch's advanced recycling process to create new food contact trays
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Tesco said its own-brand packages of cut fruit, select yogurts and meats will contain 30 percent PET from Tesco stores
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Tesco will require all Tesco private label and branded suppliers to use food contact certified PET for packaging
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It believes that this move will provide a solution to the rPET supply shortage due to the increasing demand for PET bottle flakes
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William Guest, manager of sustainable packaging at Tesco, commented: “We remove or reduce packaging as much as possible, but where needed we want to increase circularity and make our packaging as sustainable as possible
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The way we can do this is by Ensure that food contact compliant packaging remains within the food packaging industry and is recycled back into food contact packaging
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He also mentioned that the partnership with Faerch ensures that 2,000 tonnes of PET is recycled per year to make new Tesco packaging
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Matt Tollman, director of strategic sales at Faerch Group, said: "The 'pallet-to-pallet' recycling program shows that PET packaging can be recovered and recycled at an industrial level and remade into food-grade cans and trays
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The new initiative is part of Tesco's plastic waste reduction strategy, first launched in 2019, which includes removing packaging where possible, reducing packaging that cannot be removed, and increasing recycling
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The strategy is said to have reduced  Tesco's operations in the UK by 1 billion pieces of plastic, with a goal of reducing another 5 billion pieces of plastic in 2021
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