Supermarket chain Iceland (Deeside / UK; www.iceland.co.uk) has once again launched plastic-free packaging after trials earlier in 2019 using alternatives failed to live up to expectations. Speaking to the UK’s Press Association newswire, managing director Richard Walker said the trial of paper bags on bunches of bananas led to an “unacceptable increase” in food waste as well as a reduction in sales of the fruit. A three-month plastic-free produce trial in Liverpool, which saw 35 items sold loose and 27 lines sold in packaging such as compostable punnets, paper bags and cellulose nets, also led to a 20% fall in the store’s fresh produce sales.

Undeterred, Iceland is starting another trial of an alternative form of plastic-free packaging for bananas in 20 stores from 24 July 2019. The retailer also plans to trial a new approach to plastic-free produce in autumn, focusing on alternative forms of packaging rather than the sale of loose produce, which Walker said was a central feature of the Liverpool trial and “was clearly not to our customers’ taste.”

“We've still got a mountain to climb – and we're still all on our own,” commented Walker. “No other supermarkets are following our lead. However, it's good to be upfront and open about the challenges. We’re on a journey, and I’d much prefer to set a big bold ambition, rather than sit around and wait for someone else to impose it on us.” He added that the supermarket has already taken out 1,500 t of plastics across the supply chain, starting off with replacing black plastic frozen-meal trays following its pledge in 2018 to eliminate plastic packaging from its own label products by 2023 – see Plasteurope.com of 19.01.2018. “We have an ambitious but clear five-year plan and are continuing to trial a number of initiatives, which all have the aim of reducing the amount of plastic packaging we use,” Walker stated. However, he conceded the process of eliminating plastics was “very hard work and costing millions.”