Packaging and recycling

Packaging has a place, it protects our food and keeps it fresher and safe for longer. We want to keep plastics and packaging out of the oceans by using less and making our products easy to recycle. Find out what we’re doing to make a difference.

How we've made a difference

Milk bottle tops

Our milk bottle tops are a shade lighter, making it easier for recycle machines to sort them.

Meat packaging

Our cooked meat packaging is made with single material, making it easier to recycle and saving 163 tonnes of plastic from landfill.

Water bottles

Our own-brand still, sparkling, flavoured water, carbonated drinks and mixers are made out recycled material.

Pizza trays

In 2017, we introduced new, corrugated cardboard pizza discs preventing 200 tonnes of polystyrene boards going to landfill per year.

Tomato trays

670k packets of cherry and baby plum tomatoes have been moved into cardboard saving 68 tonnes of plastic per year.

Compostable carrier bags

We were the first retailer to replace single-use plastic carriers with compostable carrier bags which so far has removed around 55 million single-use plastic bags from circulation.

Mushroom pots

Our mushrooms don’t come in black packaging anymore so they can be easily recycled.

Tissue boxes

Our tissue boxes are fully made from FSC paper, without plastic so they can be recycled.

Recycle your soft plastics at Co-op

Start recycling soft plastics at a Co-op near you. Just pop those soft plastics like crisp packets and pet food pouches into one of our recycling units.

Help the environment with these easy tips

Remember to take reusable bags when you go shopping
Rinse your packaging, this removes any residue to make sure it can be recycled
Use your green Co-op compostable carrier bag for food waste

Our latest highlights

Get top tips for reducing waste, including plastic, when eating outside.

Find out how to make recycling an easy part of your daily routine with this handy guide.

Packing technologist Robert Thompson introduces the concept of wish-cycling, the damage it can cause and tips on how to recycle properly.

Our story so far

We've always been at the forefront of removing hidden plastic and unnecessary packaging, moving from 46% of our products being easy to recycle to 100%. Since 2018 we have removed 4467 tonnes of plastic from our own brand products and packaging. Our reliance on virgin or ‘new’ plastic has been greatly reduced and we now use over 30% recycled content across our own-brand plastic packaging.