In a bid to save 12.5 million cardboard rolls from being produced each year, Tesco has introduced the UK’s first ever coreless kitchen foil.
Thanks to a new rolling machine, Tesco customers will be the first to try one of the new tube-free products when the supermarket launches its re-designed aluminium foil this week.
“This new machine has revolutionised foil production, saving hundreds of tonnes of cardboard from needlessly being made in the first place,” explained Bronwen Williams, Tesco technical manager, who has been involved in the project.
The machine allows the aluminium foil to be rolled tightly around a spindle that has air vents in it. By pumping air into these vents it enables the aluminium foil to be gently released.
Its introduction is part of Tesco’s wider commitment to cut down on unnecessary packaging, as the supermarket aims to save 330 tonnes of cardboard each year.
Williams added: “We are continually looking at ways in which we can cut down on packaging in order to help the environment and hope, after starting with our top selling kitchen foil line, that we will be able to apply this to the rest of our foil range.”
It’s not the first time that Tesco has made a change to an everyday rolled domestic product. Two years ago it launched toilet rolls with double the amount of paper on them in a move that saves nearly 70 tonnes of plastic packaging each year as a result of either fitting more paper onto each roll or winding rolls more tightly, so they take up less space.
And last week it launched luxury soft toilet rolls and kitchen towel made from cardboard recycled from home delivery boxes, cardboard tubes from toilet rolls, and corrugated card waste.
Discover why retailers, spanning a range of sectors, are changing their packaging for the good of the planet in the DeliveryX Packaging 2023 report. Access the full digital report for an exclusive interview with meal-kit company HelloFresh. And case studies on Boohoo, H&M and L’Occitane’s new approach to packaging.
