UK’s First Plastic-Free Supermarket Zones Open In Bid To Reduce Waste

A supermarket in London has launched ‘plastic-free’ zones in a bid to reduce waste going to landfill.

Thornton’s Budgens in Belsize Park plans to become ‘virtually plastic-free’ by 2021. In the meantime, it has converted almost 2,000 product lines to plastic-free packaging, including vegetables and crisps.

Campaigners hope the store, which describes the move as a ‘public experiment’ will inspire larger chains to follow suit.

New tech

Andrew Thornton, who owns the Budgens franchise, has been working with campaign group A Plastic Planet to make the changes.

“We’re hoping that what we’re doing here will challenge the likes of Sainsbury’s, Tesco and others,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

Sian Sutherland, Co-founder of A Plastic Planet, added: “All the other supermarkets can look and learn from what we’re doing. It’s the big brands that are like snails with their pace of change.

“What we are doing is an open door for new packaging technology.”