I’m going to start this by saying I have absolutely no affiliation with any of the supermarkets mentioned, i’ve just been doing a fair bit of research and and wanted to write an article specifically about the individual efforts of UK supermarkets.
Below is a list of interactive initiatives run by some main UK supermarket. Now, if I haven’t really mentioned one it’s not because they aren’t doing anything, it’s just more behind the scenes. This is just a list of things provided in store for you to interact with. It’s gonna be a long one, sorry folks.
Morrisons
Personally, i’d say they have been pretty on point with sustainable initiatives. The more i searched, the more their name kept coming up!
- Bring your own container to Market Street and their lovely people will put the fish and meat you want in your container, and even give you Morrisons More Points for your troubles
- Reintroduced brown paper bags for loose fruit and veg
- Reverse vending machines were trialled in several branches for 6 months in 2018. Customers could return up to 20 bottles a day for points. Perhaps soon to be a permanent instalment?
- Too Good To Waste – In December 2018, they launched a £1 fruit and veg box scheme where they load up to 1kg worth of soon-to-expire fruit and veg and sell it for £1 in a bid to prevent food waste. All that for a quid!
- Have recycling points where you can recycle a variety of plastic bags
- Will be installing free drinking fountains for customers to refill water bottles at
- Wonky veg – Perfectly good food that would have previously been discarded is now being sold with an adorable name
- In 2017, they partnered with Charge your Car to install electric car charging points in 15 branches. You can charge your car, but you’ll need the Charge your Car RFID app or card to do it.
Tesco
- Recycling points for old mobile phones and inkjet cartridges that’ll get you clubcard points or donations to the Red Cross
- Again, you can bring your own container when buying meat, cheese, fish, at the salad bar, store bought pizzas, olives, etc, however the container you bring has to be a multi-use plastic resealable container. They don’t accept glass, metal, or cardboard containers. I think the only reward you get this time is reducing your contribution to plastic waste.
- From September 2018, reverse vending machines are being trialled in a few branches. You get 10p per bottle returned. You know what they say, look after the pennies (or shove them in a jar and forget about them), and the pounds will look after themselves
- Best before dates from many fresh fruit and veg will be scrapped to discourage waste. We all do it. We spot a nice bit of fruit, but it’s out of date in 3 days!! You’ll never eat it in time! This means you won’t be able to tell and might actually buy it instead. Tbh as someone who kinda lives off the discounted soon-to-be out of date produce, i’m not convinced, but doesn’t hurt to give it a go.
- Perfectly imperfect – similar to wonky veg, you can now get ‘wacky’ looking parsnips, potatoes, strawberries, and apples that would previously have been not fit to sell at a discounted price. Worth it.
- In 2018, they partnered with Volkswagen with the aim of installing electric car charging points in 600 shops by 2020 for FREE. Well, the 7kW version will be free. You’d have to pay extra for faster charging.
Asda
- Clothing recycling bins – Where they can, they work with the Salvation Army (not the biggest fan, but for other reasons) and Textile Recycling to provide bins for unwanted clothes and shoes
- Battery recycling – It’s actually a law that any shop that sells batteries has to recycle old ones. If you see random tubes full of batteries anywhere, this is why.
- Have you Herd? – They have teamed up with Arla to release an app that tells you how to recycle their milk bottles. It’s rather bizzare. You scan the barcode and the character on the bottle ‘comes to life’ and links you to an informative video. You can also track how many you’ve recycled.
- Plastic Bag Bins – Bins for recycling your plastic bags as well as any clear plastic film packaging
- Beautiful on the Inside – Wonky veg boxes! Each box contains 5kg of a fresh veg and is roughly 30% cheaper than the normal stuff
Sainsbury’s
- Recycling points for paper and card, mixed plastic, mixed glass, mixed cans, batteries, and textiles
- If you order online, you can simply hand back any single-use plastic bags you are given
- They are looking into a wonky veg initiative, but nothing is set yet.
- There are a very select few number of electric car charging points where, if you are a customer, you can charge your car for free.
Lidl
- From 2018, several stores will be selling 5kg ‘Too Good To Waste’ boxes of fresh produce for £1.50.
Waitrose
- There are recycling points for batteries, hearing aids, and watches
- When buying online, you can choose to have your collection bagless as well as your delivery
Again, this is by no means everything. All of these supermarkets are also making huge strides to reduce their own plastic content and cut food waste. This is all testament to the power of the people. All these initiatives were started after the public opinion was listened to, so never think your voice won’t be heard.
Diary of an Optimist 