Italian retailer cooperative Unicoop Tirreno is to cease the use of polystyrene boxes in its seafood supply chain, replacing them with reusable packaging.
Unicoop Tirreno launched a pilot project in October, in the seafood section across its sales network. As part of the trial, polystyrene crates, which are difficult to dispose of and reuse, are being replaced with an entirely recoverable and reusable fish packaging.
The new low-cost and low-weight material is both washable and reusable, and it has excellent insulating capacities, similar to polystyrene.
The deployment of the new material will enable reductions in both waste and costs.
Over 37,000 polystyrene boxes will be eliminated per year, resulting in a saving of five tonnes of non-recyclable polystyrene and a reduction in CO2 emissions.
The polystyrene crates are being replaced by two new reusable packaging formats, which the company will rent as needed.
This packaging is washed thoroughly before each use and reused, in keeping with circular-economy goals.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
