The new packaging has replaced hard-to-recycle plastic sleeves with recyclable cardboard and a small amount of plastic film (to preserve the freshness of the tomatoes without stopping the cardboard from being recycled).
Piccolo, Pomodolci and Capella tomatoes are now available in the new packaging across M&S stores and via Ocado.
The packaging was developed with The Reflex Packaging Group, inspired by traditional sandwich packaging, and uses 95% less plastic than previous designs. This will help remove eight million units of plastic food packaging by the end of the year.
“At M&S we know our customers are deeply concerned about the environment and rightly expect us to make our products as sustainable as possible,” said Andrew Clappen, technical director at M&S Food. “That’s why we’re exploring recyclable packaging alternatives for our products, which also help us to meet our plastic reduction targets.”
This new announcement is part of the retailer’s pledge for all of its food packaging to be widely recyclable by 2025. It has also promised to remove one billion units of plastic food packaging by 2027.
While the new packaging can be recycled at home, to assist shoppers M&S has rolled out recycling take-back units in over 500 UK stores, with customers able to drop off items not typically collected by local authorities.
