The supermarket has added invisible recycling tags to plastic packaging on the majority of its own-label fresh milk range, with plans to add them to additional major product ranges
Waitrose has expanded its partnership with recycling technology firm Polytag, launching a nationwide scheme to monitor plastic recycling. The supermarket chain is the first on the high street to implement invisible recycling tags at scale, adding them to the plastic packaging of most of its own-brand fresh milk products.
There are also plans in place to add these tags to other major product lines. Waitrose’s £100,000 investment in detection units at two of the UK’s largest and most AI-advanced recycling facilities will allow the supermarket to gather data that demonstrates the extent of recycling and aids future decisions about packaging design, the Grocer reported.
The supermarket initially announced a trial of the technology with Polytag in April. Polytag stated that the technology could detect tags from other schemes and retailers, expressing hope that it could eventually lead to cross-industry collaboration.
The data will also assist Waitrose and the UK governments in England and Wales in understanding how customers manage plastic and recycling. “We know that many Waitrose customers are committed to recycling, and with Polytag’s invisible tag solution we can start monitoring the recycling of our packaging at scale using real-time data,” said Denise Mathieson, head of packaging innovation and programme delivery at Waitrose.
“Improving recycling and protecting resources requires collaboration, and we will be discussing with the UK government how this data can be used to positively incentivise industry action.” Alice Rackley, CEO of Polytag, added: “Having barcode-level data is a fundamental starting point to benchmark and improve recycling performance over time – what gets measured gets managed.
“The ambitions that Waitrose has for the Polytag solution are super exciting, and the whole team at Polytag is feeling energised by Waitrose’s vision and commitment to have an intentional positive impact on UK recycling performance.”
Meanwhile Waitrose has wowed the UK TV watching public with Christmas advert in the form of a four-minute romantic comedy staring actress Keira Knightley and comedian Joe Wilkinson.
Knightley, who has been nominated for two Academy Awards, two Baftas and four Golden Globes over a career spanning films including Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, The Imitation Game and Love Actually, said: “I love food, and so when I received this script where I get to fall head over heels in love over a shared love of cheese, I couldn’t turn it down.
“I adored working on this silly, fun and delicious film with Joe, and I hope those watching it fall in love too.”
Waitrose chief customer officer Nathan Ansell said: “Our four-minute Christmas film – an industry first – pays homage to the seasonal romantic comedy tradition, celebrates the exciting and elevated Waitrose festive food offering, and adds a little more of that warm, fuzzy feeling to the holiday season.”
