Cranswick plc, one of Britain’s leading suppliers of premium food, has vowed a significant drive to reduce plastic waste within the UK starting with their own pledge that all packaging used by the food group will be 100% recyclable and sustainably sourced and in addition, to also reduce their plastic use by 50% by 2025.

Cranswick believes that big change is only possible through industry and peer collaboration, and has launched a call to action with an invitation to its food peers—not just key customers and suppliers—to collaborate with the company as a joined-up industry to take responsibility for the environmental impact of plastics as a matter of urgency. 

The food manufacturer also believes a key step is to lobby the government to look at the full lifecycle of products and not simply collecting materials for recycling, but getting waste packaging back in the system to replace virgin materials for manufacturing new products.

Adam Couch, CEO of Cranswick plc. said: “The environmental impact of plastics, with regards to the damage they cause to the world’s oceans and landfill, has become a major global issue and one that we seek to address as a matter of urgency. While we commend the Government for putting this issue on the political agenda through the new 25 Year Environmental Plan, we believe as a major UK manufacturer we have a responsibility to help drive systemic change to end global plastic pollution. 

More importantly, nor do we need to wait that long (2042) to achieve our goals. Ensuring a sustainable future for our planet should be a priority for every retailer, manufacturer, local authority and individual globally—and it is our collective responsibility to ensure there is the opportunity to be able to reduce, re- use and recycle as much as is possible to minimize the impact on our environment.”

As documented in a report published in the journal Science Advances, it is calculated that the total volume of all plastic ever produced is approximately 8.3 billion tonnes. Of which, 6.3 billion tonnes is now waste and 79% is now in landfill or the natural environment. The Ellen McArthur Foundation believe that on the current track, there could be more plastics than fish in the ocean (by weight) by 2050.

By 2025 Cranswick has committed to:

REDUCE – the weight of their plastic packaging from farm to fork by 50%

REUSE – all of its internal materials in a closed loop system across their business

RECYCLE – ensure that all packaging the company uses is not only 100% recyclable but easily recyclable supporting circular waste solutions

“Our consumers are constantly demanding convenient food solutions, and the packaging solutions currently available can make the problem worse.  Much of this packaging is not easily recyclable and we have a responsibility to address this issue," said Jim Brisby, group commercial director at Cranswick plc.

“The results of an internal sustainability review in 2017 illustrated how important waste and recycling is to our staff and stakeholders. This strategy will now form a major part of Cranswick’s new group sustainability initiative Second Nature, which seeks to address key issues from farm to fork. Our ambition is to lead sustainability across agriculture and food production on a global scale by integrating sustainability as second nature to what we do, how we work, and why we do it," Brisby added.