UK plastics trade body, the British Plastics Federation (BPF, London; www.bpf.co.uk), said moves by supermarket chain Iceland (Deeside / UK; www.iceland.co.uk) to phase out plastic packaging of its own-label products by 2023 will not cut the amount of plastic litter ending up in rivers and seas. The BPF said Iceland’s move risked increasing the weight of packaging, food waste and the amount of energy to make that packaging.

Iceland announced on 16 January 2018 it will switch to using pulp- and paper-based packaging in the next five years as part of its plan to deliver “meaningful change”. The group’s managing director Richard Walker, said the onus was on retailers, “as leading contributors to plastic packaging pollution and waste, to take a stand.”

“There really is no excuse any more for excessive packaging that creates needless waste and damages our environment. The technologies and practicalities to create less environmentally harmful alternatives exist, and so Iceland is putting a stake in the ground,” he added.

The BPF recently rejected calls for single-use plastic packaging, such as bubble-wrap and PS takeaway cartons, to be taxed as part of the UK government’s efforts to reduce littering (see Plasteurope.com of 23.11.2017 and 15.01.2018).

Watch Iceland's video on YouTube.