Day: 17 October 2019

Asda trialling new solution to fight food waste

Stuart Mitchell

Supermarket Asda is to trial an innovative new technology by Apeel Sciences that could drastically reduce food waste and potentially reduce the use of plastic packaging in future. Apeel is a plant-derived, water-based coating that gives produce a little extra “peel” that slows the rate of spoilage, and it’s made of materials that exist in the peels, seeds, and pulp of all the fruits and vegetables we already eat. It can double to triple the shelf life of many types of fresh produce, which reduces food waste from farm to…

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Sainsbury’s to halve plastic packaging by 2025

Stuart Mitchell

Sainsbury’s is announcing an ambitious new commitment to reduce plastic packaging by 50% by 2025. This new target includes all branded food packaging, Sainsbury’s brand food packaging and packaging across all of Sainsbury’s operations. Sainsbury’s currently uses almost 120,000 tonnes of plastic packaging per year and believes a transformational leap in thinking is required to move the industry beyond existing efforts at reducing packaging. Sainsbury’s reduced plastic packaging by 1% in 2018. To meet this goal, Sainsbury’s will launch a programme to accelerate change, which will include switching to alternative…

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Fairtrade leads the fight for decent incomes for cocoa farmers

Stuart Mitchell

With global cocoa prices stuck at unsustainably low levels, Fairtrade is moving a step closer towards securing a decent income for impoverished cocoa farmers – many of whom earn less than US$1 dollar a day. “Most cocoa farmers are unable to afford decent housing, food and education, and that will continue as long as chocolate traders, manufacturers and brands fail to address the issue of price,” said Fairtrade International CEO Darío Soto Abril. “Many farmers still live in extreme poverty.” As part of the solution to the huge power imbalances…

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Children bring clean water and toilets to their school with support from WaterAid and the Wimbledon Foundation

Stuart Mitchell

Inspiring students at Wundiye Elementary School in Ethiopia have taken the lead in bringing toilets and clean water to their school for the first time with support from their community, WaterAid and funding from the Wimbledon Foundation. Previously, there was no water facility for the 1,100 students, teachers and staff. They had to take it in turns to complete the 90-minute round trip to a spring at the bottom of a slippery, muddy path to fetch water that was contaminated with animal waste and often contributed to sickness.  The school…

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PepsiCo Accelerates Plastic Waste Reduction Efforts

Stuart Mitchell

PepsiCo, Inc. has announced a new target to reduce 35% of virgin plastic content across its beverage portfolio by 2025, which equates to the elimination of 2.5 million metric tons of cumulative virgin plastic.  Progress will be driven by the company’s increased use of recycled content and alternative packaging materials for its beverage brands, including LIFEWTR®, bubly™ and Aquafina®, which recently announced sustainable packaging efforts. Additionally, through the expansion of PepsiCo’s SodaStream® business, an estimated 67 billion plastic bottles will be avoided through 2025. These targets advance PepsiCo’s sustainable packaging vision and…

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