As the first UK supermarket to do so, Lidl will be incorporating a minimum of 30% of Prevented Ocean Plastic into the bottles containing a brand of water sold by the retailer. From July, its San Celestino Italian sparkling mineral water bottles will be made with the plastic, which, claims Lidl, would have otherwise ended up in the ocean.
With 12 million bottles of the brand sold annually, this initiative is expected to save almost 100 tonnes of plastic from entering the oceans per year, equivalent to almost 4 million plastic water bottles.Developed in conjunction with Bantam Materials, Prevented Ocean Plastic packaging is made from discarded water bottles found in Southeast Asia within 30 miles of a coastline or major waterway that feeds into the ocean. This waste is then sorted and processed before being used in packaging. The entire process is fully traceable with a robust documented chain of accountability.
“As pioneers of integrating ocean bound plastic into our packaging in 2020, we have been consistently building and improving on our efforts since, and are proud to now extend Prevented Ocean Plastic into water bottles,” said Shyam Unarket, head of Responsible Sourcing and Ethical Trade at Lidl GB. “Through this latest product development, we hope to inspire wider efforts across the industry.”
At the same time, Lidl is also taking steps to improve the recyclability of its plastic. Last year, working with its supplier, Müller, the discounter switched to using clear caps for its semi-skimmed fresh milk. Over the next two months, in partnership with both Müller and Cornish Farm, it is transitioning its entire milk range to clear caps. This will support industry-wide retention of 4000 tonnes of bottle top material to be used again within the food sector, said the company.
Lidl has been at the forefront of the leading the way since 2020, when it became the first UK supermarket to introduce food packaging using Prevented Ocean Plastic. Since then, it has been rolled out across a range of Lidl’s own-brand fresh fish, breaded poultry, sausage and fresh fruit products, resulting in the prevention of the equivalent of more than 15 million plastic water bottles from entering the ocean.