Did you know?
Only 6% of soft plastics have been recycled in the UK until 2020 (WRAP)

What are we doing about this?
Kicking off a partnership with Tesco to turn soft plastics into Heinz Beanz Snap Pots

When are we doing this?
This is a trial going live in all Tesco stores in July

To date soft plastics, which are often used in packaging for bread, snacks and crisps, have been difficult to recycle. They play an important role in the preservation of food and reducing food waste but they are not currently collected for recycling by councils, and until 2020 just six per cent of soft plastics were being recycled in the UK. Tesco started collecting soft plastic in all its large stores in 2021 to help plug this recycling gap in the UK.

Working with a team of recycling specialists, we have taken the soft plastic returned to Tesco stores by customers and created recyclable Heinz Beanz Snap Pots made with 39% recycled soft plastics. This first of its kind pilot project is set to save 22 tonnes of plastic from landfill while still offering shoppers the convenience of microwave cooking.

The move to make soft plastics into food-grade, microwavable snappable pots that can then return to the kerbside recycling loop is a world first. The recycled plastic used in the snappable pots is certified by the ISCC, a global sustainability certification system that supports the transition to a circular economy with a focus on plastics.

Jojo de Noronha, our President Northern Europe, says: “We’re very excited about this pioneering trial using the latest recycling technologies to make our Heinz Beanz Snap Pots – it has huge potential to make a positive impact. The new packaging gives our consumers an easy way to reduce their impact on the environment without having to give up the convenience of their favourite Heinz Beanz in a microwavable pot. What’s more, knowing that this type of plastic can now be made into useful food-grade packaging like our Snap Pots could encourage more people to drop it off at their local collection point – or ask their local council to provide more solutions - rather than adding them to landfill.”

James Bull, Tesco’s Head of Packaging, said: “This innovative collaboration is one of the ways that soft plastic returned to stores by our customers will be recycled into new food-grade packaging. After doing everything we can to remove and reduce plastic, we want to develop circular recycling solutions like this so the materials we use stay in our packaging and out of the environment”

Help us support a circular economy with our new Heinz Beanz Snap Pots, available at Tesco from July!