Tesco is taking part in trials of a new scheme where online shoppers are able to buy leading food, household cleaning, and toiletry brands in reusable containers which are delivered to their door, then collected once used and sanitised to be refilled.
The supermarket group has joined forces with ‘zero waste shopping platform’ Loop to pilot the scheme that has the potential to significantly cut down on plastic waste and other single-use packaging.
It will initially cover 150 products from brands including Heinz, Danone, Coca-Cola, Molton Brown, Nivea and Persil.
Customers can apply for the service on the Loop website. They will then be able to order the products in reusable containers for which they pay a refundable deposit. The products are delivered in a reusable Loop bag by courier firm DPD, which also collects the containers when they are empty. Shoppers can also drop off the containers at one of 2,500 DPD collection points across the UK.
Loop, a spin-off of waste management company TerraCycle, will then sort containers for cleaning by hygiene and food safety firm Ecolab. They can then be refilled by the manufacturer.
The online pilot will be delivering to the whole of the UK mainland with plans to roll out the scheme to Tesco’s bricks & mortar stores next year.
The service has already been piloted in France and the US with strong growth in recent months.
Tesco pledged last year to remove one billion pieces of plastic packaging from products in its UK stores by the end of 2020.
Its Chief Executive Dave Lewis said the group has a “clear ambition to reduce packaging” and that he hoped its “ground-breaking” partnership with Loop would illustrate how best to introduce reusable materials into the business on a large scale.
Tom Szaky, founder and Chief Executive of Loop and TerraCycle, added: “Loop was designed from the ground up to reinvent the way we consume by learning from historic circular and sustainable models like the milkman from yesteryear while honouring the convenience afforded by our single-use consumption of today.
“Tesco is the perfect partner to bring Loop to retail in the UK due to its commitment to sustainability, in combating plastics waste, and its operational scale as the UK’s biggest grocery retailer.”
Greenpeace applauded Tesco and Loop for “taking the lead” in making reusable packaging available to customers, which has the potential to stem plastic pollution.
Louise Edge, a spokesperson for the environmental organisation, said: “The rising demand for home deliveries on the back of Covid presents a real opportunity for innovation in reusable packaging … Tesco and Loop have taken the lead, now it’s time for all supermarkets to catch up and invest in the waste-saving reuse systems that are set to be the future of grocery shopping.”
