UK-based supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has replaced plastic pods for its entire coffee pod range with aluminium pods to allow more people to recycle at home.
The retailer said that the transition to fully recyclable aluminium pods will save more than ten million pieces of plastic a year.
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The new pods are home recyclable with a pod recycling device or can be emptied with a teaspoon and rinsed before being placed for kerbside recycling.
Customers can also use a Dualit EcoPress to ensure the coffee is separated and removed from the aluminium, making it ready for recycling.
The EcoPress is available from Sainsbury’s stores or online.
Recyclable pods are being introduced for all the retailer’s coffee products, including Signature Light Roast and Ristretto.
They can be bought in packs of ten or 30 pods.
The move comes after Sainsbury’s became the first retailer in the UK to label its own-brand aluminium coffee pods as recyclable last year.
It represents the retailer’s latest plastic reduction initiative as part of its ongoing commitment to reducing its own-brand plastic packaging by 50% by 2025.
In addition to the aluminium pods, Sainsbury’s has reduced its use of cardboard boxes and cases across its coffee pod range by more than 20%.
In June this year, the retailer launched own-brand refillable handwash pouches, which are expected to save a total of 28tpa of plastic and cost 35% less than other equivalent bottles.
The one-litre pouches also use 85% less plastic than the equivalent number of Sainsbury’s 250ml The Collection bottles as a proportion of plastic weight.
In July, Sainsbury’s also introduced own-brand double-length toilet rolls to reduce plastic packaging by 30%.
The multipack rolls each have twice as many sheets as the standard version and use an average of 30% less plastic, which could save an estimated 84t of plastic.
