Britain’s largest supermarket Tesco is testing a new method to reduce plastic consumption: by applying barcodes and product information directly to the products.
The trial only applies to avocados, which have become increasingly popular in the UK over the past decade, with avocado on toast a particular delicacy for millennials. The company, which ranks 34th on the latest Fortune 500 Europe list, sells almost 70 million of the oil-rich fruit annually, a 15% increase in the past 12 months.
The company informed the Daily Mail If the trial, currently limited to around 270 stores in the south-east of England, were to be expanded nationwide, it could prevent the use of one million plastic stickers. In the same trial, which is being carried out with a single supplier, Westfalia Fruit, the company is also replacing the plastic tray on avocado multipacks with a cardboard alternative.
Why is that important?
Sad as it may be, it must be acknowledged that lasers alone will not save the world. The far greater problem is certainly the plastic packaging waste and the emissions associated with transporting the fruit to the shops, whether it comes from domestic producers or from further afield.
In addition, this idea is really only applicable to certain products – avocados have a dark, thick skin on which a light laser engraving can be done safely and clearly. The same does not apply to peaches, for example.
But that does not mean that laser tattooing of fruits only a publicity stunt.
It is unlikely that ambitious sustainability goals can be achieved through one or two major, far-reaching actions.
Instead, numerous smaller initiatives offer companies like Tesco – which, like many others, aims to be net zero emissions by 2050 – the opportunity to move forward gradually but surely.
For example, the Group reduced its emissions in areas 1 and 2 – i.e. without taking into account the end use of its products – by 61% since 2015which will probably be the result of many small changes.
What’s next?
Whether there is a future without plastic labels for avocado-eating Brits depends on the outcome of the experiment.
The bigger changes to look out for concern alternatives to plastic packaging, from refill stations to packaging made from materials such as seaweed or cassava.
The technology is not yet at the level where it can compete with fossil-based plastic packaging, but technological advances are constantly being made.
Regulation can also make a difference, as the successful British ban on free plastic shopping bags shows. showed (Aldi is trying something similar in its US stores).
As always, it’s wise to be a little skeptical of what supermarkets, consumer goods manufacturers and others say about their efforts. But when you notice less plastic and more things like laser-engraved fruit in your recycling or trash, you know the effort is starting to pay off.