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Budget 2021:

What the budget means for your taxes, housing, pensions and more

How announcements made by chancellor Rishi Sunak will impact your income and finances

Iceland increases number of plastic free products and doubles reduced plastic Christmas range

Kalila Sangster
·2-min read
A branch of Iceland in the Cabra area of Dublin. The boss of the frozen foods supermarket chain has apologised for comments he made about "the Irish" in a current affairs programme on the horse meat scandal.
Iceland now offers 40 products with significantly less plastic or none at all. Photo: PA

Iceland has increased the number of entirely plastic free products on its shelves to 24, the company has announced.

The frozen food retailer has also doubled the number of reduced plastic items in it Christmas range, adding 16 products with significantly reduced plastic with an average of only 3% plastic by weight, according to the company.

Iceland said that it now offers 40 products with significantly less plastic or none at all.

The move builds on Iceland’s commitment to remove plastic from all own label packaging by the end of 2023. Last year, Iceland was the first UK supermarket to offer a three course Christmas dinner in either plastic free or reduced plastic packaging.

Between January 2018 and December 2019, the supermarket cut out some 3,794 tonnes of plastic (29%) from the 13,000 tonnes of plastic it was previously using, Iceland said.

An estimated 125,000 tonnes of plastic wrapping used for food will be discarded over the festive period and sent to landfill, according to packaging manufacturer GWP Group. This is in addition to the excess plastic packaging used on Christmas presents and found in wrapping paper and decorations.

READ MORE: Ocado's M&S partnership pays off as sales rocket 35%

Iceland is the first UK supermarket to offer an entirely plastic free Christmas cake, the firm said. Other plastic free products include its vegan wellington, a selection of party food, and several desserts.

Reduced plastic Christmas products on offer for 2020 include several different turkey crowns, a three bird roast, bacon wrapped goose, and a selection of desserts.

Richard Walker, Managing Director at Iceland said: “We’re delighted with what we’ve achieved this year — doubling the number of products in reduced plastic packaging in our Christmas range. Finding alternatives is complex and requires true innovation, and it’s testament to the dedication and tenacity of the Iceland team and its suppliers that we are making real progress.

“Around Christmas so many more tonnes of plastic go to landfill so we’re very proud to play our part in helping to combat this this and providing a solution for customers to reduce their plastic footprint, which they’ve told us they’re very keen to do.”

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