Danish Crown switches to environmentally friendly meat trays
All the plastic trays currently used by Danish Crown in their stores in Denmark are to be replaced with new ones, made with 80% recycled plastic.
Every year, Danes open around 55 million packs of pork and beef from Danish Crown. In total, these black or green plastic trays weigh more than 1000 tons which will now get to be reused again and again for pre-packed food - unlike the plastic which is being used currently, announced the company.
The company's goal is to reach 100%, but this will require a better collecting and recycling system.
"Our preliminary calculations show that the shift to PET-plastic will reduce the CO2-emissions per plastic tray by 54% if the tray is recycled. This number will become even higher in time if it becomes possible to produce the trays entirely of recycled plastic. However, if the PET-tray is incinerated, the reduction is only 6%, so it is crucial that we raise the number of trays that are being recycled", explained Preben Sunke, Group COO of Danish Crown and responsible for the group’s sustainability strategy.
Currently, 71 of 98 Danish local authorities are collecting plastic for recycling from households. Still, the assessment in the government’s plans for plastic is that only 15% of the plastic waste from Danish households is being recycled. The rest ends up in the trashcan and is incinerated.
"Together with the grocery sector, we are now taking a huge step in the right direction. We hope that the local authorities will make a greater effort to sort waste from consumers, businesses, and institutions, so the meat trays, among other things, can be recycled instead of ending up as district heating", added Preben Sunke.
The change to the more environmentally-friendly packaging is for both Danish Crown’s black plastic trays and the organic subsidiary Friland’s green trays.
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