Heinz and Tesco have partnered to launch a pioneering trial this July that they hope will lead to important change across the wider food industry when it comes to tackling the UK’s soft plastic recycling challenge. Heinz has taken the soft plastic returned to Tesco stores by its customers and worked with the retailer and a team of specialists to create recyclable Heinz Beanz Snap Pots made with 39% recycled soft plastics.
With customer interest in recycling and avoiding plastics going to landfill heightened, this first of its kind pilot project is set to recycle 22 tonnes of plastic, while still offering shoppers the convenience of microwave cooking. The move to make soft plastics into food-grade, microwavable snappable pots that can then return to the kerbside recycling loop is a world first.
To date soft plastics, which are often used in packaging for bread, snacks and crisps, have historically been difficult to recycle. They play an important role in the preservation of food and reducing food waste but they are not currently collected for recycling by councils, and until 2020 just six per cent of UK soft plastics were being recycled.
