Waitrose now offers fresh UK soft-plastic disposal
Customers can now recycle their soft plastic at 295 Waitrose stores as a result of a successful trial and extensive research to discover a UK-based waste management solution.
“We know that recycling is a critical priority for many of our customers, so we’re delighted to be able to offer flexible plastic recycling across a number of our shops,” said Caroline Pinnell, Waitrose’s sustainability and ethics specialist.
We continue to eliminate single-use packaging at Waitrose and John Lewis while offering our clients practical reuse, refill, and recycling options. By the end of 2023, all of our own-brand packaging will be reusable, made of widely recyclable, or compostable at home. This is two years earlier than the industry-wide WRAP UK Plastic Pact. We are on pace to achieve this goal.
What then is recyclable at Waitrose? The following are recyclable in-store, provided they are spotless and dry:
- Transport Containers
- bagged bread
- Containers of frozen food
- Shipping Containers
- Crayon Marker
- Salad, pasta, and rice containers are wrapped in toilet paper
- Covering cheese, fish, and meat
- Chocolate, biscuits, and Chips Packaging
- Pet and Infant Food Pouches
- Wrapping paper and cling film
The plastic will be delivered to a reprocessor in Glasgow, where it will be cleaned, separated, flaked, or pelletized, and then used to create new goods or materials, such as:
- Additional Packing (e.g. toilet paper packaging)
- Shrink packaging for products transportation
- Carrier | Delivery Bags
- Refusal Bags
- bags for horticultural, industrial, and do-it-yourself goods
- buckets, plastic furnishings, or gutters
Attention Managers
The following types of plastic are not permitted in this refuse bin:
- Multi-material Compostable or Biodegradable Bags and Packaging
- Packing with plastic wrap and cardboard
- Bottled in plastic
- Pliable pots
- Polyethylene trays and tubs
- However, the majority of the things that are not accepted can be recycled at home using standard methods.
*Up-to-date statistics (2021) from edie WRAP
Email information
Please get in touch with Jasmine Barker at jasmine.barker@johnlewis.co.uk for more details.
With regards to the John Lewis Company
The John Lewis Partnership is the owner and operator of John Lewis and Waitrose, two of the most well-known retail names in Britain. With over 80,000 employees who are all Partners in the company, the Partnership, which was founded as a radical experiment more than a century ago, is now the biggest employee-owned business in the UK. The goal of the Partnership is to build a more equitable and sustainable future for our Partners, clients, suppliers, and communities. Our Purpose directs us to act differently and better in order to make the world a happier place for everyone and everything we come in contact with. It inspires our values, shapes our choices, and serves as our compass for being a force for good.
Waitrose
Waitrose & Partners operates 331 stores across England, Scotland, Wales, and the Channel Islands. These stores include 59 convenience stores, 27 Welcome Break locations, and Waitrose.com, a rapidly expanding online retailer that has regularly received top marks in independent studies. The retailer, committed to providing high-quality, ethically sourced food along with exceptional customer service, blends the convenience of a supermarket with the knowledge and services of a specialty shop. All Partners have a voice in how the company is managed because they are a part of an employee-owned company.
