UK grocer Sainsbury’s will be removing more single-use plastic lids from its Retail-owned brand ranges, with dips set to be the next product that will see the change. From March 2023, household favorites such as guacamole, tzatziki and sour cream and chive dip will no longer be sold with single-use plastic lids.
Since 2019 Sainsbury’s has removed single-use plastic lids from a wide range of products including cream, crème fraiche, custard, cottage cheese and sour cream. Earlier this year, Sainsbury’s also removed single-use plastic lids from all own-brand yoghurt.
After removing plastic lids from Sainsbury’s own-brand brandy cream last year, customers will be able to buy Sainsbury’s own-brand brandy butter without plastic lids, helping save on average 581,000 pieces of plastic this festive season.
The removal of the single-use plastic lids will save 71 million pieces of plastic each year in total, equating to 220 tons of plastic.
For customers that would prefer to use a lid on products at home, Sainsbury’s has launched reusable lids, available to purchase across all superstores in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as online for £1.25.
Customers will be able to find the lids in-store in the dairy aisle and can be used on private brand pots, as well as some branded pots, including Yeo Valley, Onken and Alpro. After each use, the silicone lids simply need to be washed by hand or in the dishwasher, before being reused.
Removing single-use plastic lids is just one of the ways the retailer is working towards its commitment to halve its use of own brand plastic packaging by 2025. Sainsbury’s recently changed its entire coffee pods range from plastic to aluminum pods, allowing customers to recycle them at home and helping to save over 10 million pieces of plastic each year. Sainsbury’s also launched new double-length toilet rolls, reducing plastic packaging by 30% equating to 84 tons of plastic.