Sainsbury's Launches World-First Compostable 'Wet' Pack

UK supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has taken another major step towards reducing household waste by launching a world-first compostable 'wet' pack for its SO Organic wild rocket range.

Specifically developed as a non-genetically modified, compostable film for prepared produce - the new packaging is water resistant and can run in a wet environment at standard speeds on a range of different packaging machines. The new packaging also offers optimal seal integrity and barrier properties.

Sainsbury's packaging manager Stuart Lendrum says, “Food packaging is very important to our customers and it influences their buying decisions. The new film helps us meet our customers’ needs and our sustainability goals without compromising on shelf life and seal performance requirements. This is a new material that you can use on moist and damp products and is good for fresh produce like fresh prepared salad.”

Sainsbury’s SO Organic range currently includes over 450 products, of which around 90% is available in home-compostable, recycled or re-useable packaging.

The new home-compostable `wet’ packs are described by Sainsbury’s as `a step forward’ in achieving their objective of helping their customers halve their household waste by composting.

The supermarket giant is also actively working to reduce the amount of plastic carry bags used. In October this year Sainsbury’s removed free carry bags from visible display on supermarket checkouts in a bid to cut the use of single-use carry bags. Free bags are still available, but have to be specifically requested.

In a recent interview with UK Packaging News Sainsbury's revealed it has achieved a 28% reduction in free bag usage since April 2008, and is more than half way to its target of 50% by April 2009.