SuperValu launches new 100% Recyclable & Compostable Packaging on New Season Potatoes

SuperValu launches new 100% Recyclable & Compostable Packaging on New Season Potatoes

SuperValu continues to help shoppers shop more sustainably as more product lines move to compostable and recyclable packaging

Potato season is here, and SuperValu has today announced that packaging is now 100% recyclable and compostable across six lines of own brand Potatoes. Customers will find delicious in-season Irish New Season Roosters and Kerr Pinks in store in paper potato bags that can be disposed of in either the green or brown bins found in most homes and businesses. Plastic netting has been removed from bags and replaced with cotton netting to ensure 100% of packaging can be recycled or composted. This move will remove a massive 380kg of plastic from circulation every year.

Over 13,500 Tonnes of potatoes are sold in SuperValu every year and this is another significant move in SuperValu’s commitment to making 100 per cent of SuperValu own-brand, fresh produce and in-store packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.  This year alone SuperValu have moved over 26 lines of produce to recyclable or compostable packaging and products that don’t require packaging are now sold loose. SuperValu have been implementing these changes since 2018 and to date a huge 5 tonnes of plastic, that would have gone to landfill, has been removed from circulation. In 2019 an enormous 84 tonnes of black unrecyclable plastic was removed from produce packaging by moving to loose produce, cardboard or recyclable plastic as part of SuperValu’s sustainable packaging strategy to make 100% of its Own Brand and fresh fruit and vegetable packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. SuperValu is continuously making small changes to packaging in order to give customers the chance to shop more sustainably during every shop and in turn help SuperValu build more sustainable communities.

Ray Kelly, Interim Managing Director, SuperValu, said, “At SuperValu we’re committed to reducing our impact on the environment. Removing unnecessary plastic from our own-brand packaging is a priority for us and by 2025 100% of SuperValu own-brand, fresh produce and in-store packaging will be recyclable, reusable or compostable. The move to compostable and recyclable packaging on six lines of potatoes is another significant step towards that goal. So far, these changes have stopped 380Kg of plastic going to the landfill annually, a positive move that will impact communities around Ireland.”

SuperValu is committed to reducing its carbon footprint in Ireland by 70 per cent by 2025. In addition to moving to sustainable packaging SuperValu is committed to operating all facilities with 100 percent green electricity and to sending no recoverable waste to landfill. Any food surplus in stores is sent to re-distribution charities so food waste is minimised as well as helping to alleviate food poverty.