Lidl becomes first UK supermarket to use ocean-bound plastic in water bottles

From July, Lidl said that its 1-litre San Celestino Italian sparkling mineral water bottles will contain a minimum of 30% Prevented Ocean Plastic, which otherwise would have ended up in the water.

Lidl sells 12 million of the bottles every year and said the initiative would save “almost 100 tonnes of plastic from entering our oceans per year”.

The discounter has also been investing in improving the recyclability of some plastics in its range. Last year, the retailer moved semi-skimmed fresh milk bottles over to clear caps and is looking to transition its entire milk range over in the next two months.

Lidl GB head of responsible sourcing and ethical trade Shyam Unarket said: “Ocean plastic pollution is a pressing environmental concern, it is expected that by 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

“As pioneers of integrating ocean-bound plastic into our packaging in 2020, we have been consistently building and improving on our efforts since, and are proud to now extend Prevented Ocean Plastic into water bottles. Through this latest product development, we hope to inspire wider efforts across the industry.”