IRELAND - Sustainability is the way to go these days, and SuperValu is putting in an extra push. The Irish retailer recently announced it will be launching new compostable packaging in Ireland for its organic produce lines.
“Now more than ever, SuperValu is committed to leading in sustainable packaging and ensuring we remove plastic from circulation where possible. Making a positive impact in the communities we operate is a key focus for SuperValu, and we are consistently making significant steps toward our 2025 goals,” Ray Kelly, Interim Managing Director, stated. “The move to compostable packaging on our produce lines ensures customers can make more sustainable choices than ever in SuperValu stores around Ireland.”
According to the press release, SuperValu will be transitioning all packaging on 19 organic produce lines in-store to be fully compostable. Organic products now sold in compostable packaging include avocado, eggplant, tomato, ginger, sweet potato, fresh beetroot, cabbage, cauliflower, peppers, mango, butternut squash, kale, turnip, and leeks, with further product lines moving to compostable packaging in the coming months. In addition to these products now sold in fully compostable packaging, an additional four product lines are now sold in compostable nets, which include onion, red onion, garlic, and lemon.
Shoppers expect more sustainable options, and organic products that do not require packaging are now sold loose while others have moved to compostable packaging. The compostable packaging can be disposed of in the brown bin that is found in most homes and many businesses in Ireland. It is then fully broken down once taken to industrial composting.
These changes have been in place since 2018. To date, a massive 5 tonnes (roughly 11,000 pounds) of plastic have been removed from circulation. In 2019, an enormous 84 tonnes (around 185,000 pounds) of black unrecyclable plastic was removed from produce packaging by moving to loose produce, cardboard, or recyclable plastic as part of SuperValu’s sustainable packaging strategy to make 100 percent of its own brand and fresh fruit and vegetable packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025.
For more information on SuperValu’s sustainability efforts, click here.
Will this push in Ireland make its way Stateside? AndNowUKnow will follow the newswire and report on the latest.
