Lidl first supermarket to use Prevented Ocean Plastic in bottles

Lidl GB has announced that it will be incorporating Prevented Ocean Plastic into its water bottles and has said that it is the first UK supermarket to make this change.

Available in stores throughout July 2023, Lidl’s one litre San Celestino Italian Sparkling Mineral Water bottles will contain a minimum of 30 percent Prevented Ocean Plastic (plastic that would have otherwise ended up in the ocean).

According to Lidl, 12 million bottles of the item are sold annually, with the adjustment expecting to save a reported 100 tonnes of plastic from entering oceans per year.

Previously, Lidl 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, a move it says has prevented the equivalent of more than 15 million plastic water bottles from entering the ocean.

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Lidl has also highlighted that it is steps to improve the recyclability of its plastic. Last year, the discounter transitioned its semi-skimmed fresh milk with supplier Müller over to clear caps. Looking to the near future, over the next two months, in partnership with both Müller and Cornish Farm, it is transitioning its entire milk range to clear caps.

“The rollout of colourless milk caps this year will support industry wide retention of 4000 tonnes of bottle top material to be used again within the food sector,” said Lidl.

“Ocean plastic pollution is a pressing environmental concern, it is expected that by 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish,” said Shyam Unarket, Head of Responsible Sourcing and Ethical Trade at Lidl GB.

“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. Through this latest product development, we hope to inspire wider efforts across the industry.”