Tesco unveils fresh mince ‘pillow packs’ that use less plastic

Customers picking up fresh mince in some Tesco stores will notice a big change in how it’s packaged. Instead of the traditional tray/top wrap pack, shoppers will see two lines of mince in new ‘pillow packs’.

The supermarket is trialling the new packaging which uses 70% less plastic, on two lines: 500g Tesco Beef Lean Steak Mince 5% fat (£3.49) and Tesco Beef Mince 500g 20% fat (£2.49). If customers like the new pillow packs, Tesco will roll it out to more stores and across more lines.

Pillow packs are the opposite to vacuum packs. The slightly inflated ‘pillow’ keeps the mince in perfect condition and prevents it being compressed at all.

While the new packs still contain the same amount of mince as the old ones, the packaging is smaller in size, meaning fewer lorries are needed to transport them, and stores can fit more on shelves, increasing availability.

The new packaging is recyclable. Customers can put it into the front of store recycling units with their other soft plastic.

Dom Morrey, Tesco Commercial Director for Fresh, said: “As well as looking for great value when they shop, customers want to see less plastic packaging in their trolleys. Pillow packs are a win-win: they keep the mince in perfect condition while requiring much less plastic. 

“Removing or reducing unnecessary plastic is an important way that Tesco can reduce its environmental impact. We're proud of what we have done so far but continue to look for ways to do more."

Tesco’s 4Rs packaging strategy aims to remove plastic where it can, reduce where it can't, reuse more and recycle what's left. To date, Tesco has removed around 2.2 billion pieces of plastic from its UK business, including: 

• 200+ million bags from Tesco.com deliveries
• 100+ million extra lids from products such as wipes, creams, yogurts and desserts
• 50 million pieces of plastic wrapping from cans of branded beers and ciders

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Notes to editors:

More information on the work Tesco is doing on plastic and packaging can be found here: Packaging and Plastic (tescoplc.com)

The 4Rs are underpinned by an industry leading Red/Amber/Green list of Preferred Materials and Formats. The list is based on UK recycling capabilities, infrastructure and end of life outcomes. It is a simple demonstration of the packaging types Tesco want to use. Tesco has pressed suppliers to remove all ‘red’ materials and refused to stock new products that contain ‘red’ materials, as customers cannot easily recycle them in the UK.

Since the launch of the 4Rs strategy in August 2019, Tesco has reduced the size of its annual packaging footprint by more than 4,500 tonnes, including 2.2bn pieces of plastic. Fruit juices, crisps and cheese are all now being produced using less plastic.

Tesco has redesigned over 2,000 tonnes of packaging to improve recyclability and has doubled the amount of recycled content in its own label plastic packaging.

Both prices are subject to change and part of the Aldi Price Match campaign.

Tesco stores included in the current trial are Borehamwood, Cheshunt, Epping, Hatfield, Hertford, Hornchurch, Ponders End, Potters Bar and Waltham Abbey.