British supermarket giant Tesco is changing the pack format of its Tesco new potato range to a more environmentally friendly recyclable film that will save nearly 500 tonnes in polystyrene packaging a year. Packaging supplier Amcor Flexibles worked with Tesco and its new potato suppliers Greenvale AP and Branston Ltd. to change the packaging for the one-kilogram (2.2 pounds) packages of potatoes.
The original packaging was a high impact polystyrene (HIPS) punnet lidded with Amcor P-Plus laminate film. This has been replaced with a vertical form fill (VFSS) seal bag produced from Amcor Flexibles' recyclable coextrusion film. The packs still use the Amcor P-Plus technology to maintain the excellent quality of the potatoes.
The coextrusion film produced at Amcor Flexibles Winterbourne is designed to be a high-speed packing film - capable of exceeding up to 120 packs a minute on a one-kilogram weight. The film is then finished at Amcor Flexibles Ledbury where flexo printing, antimist and the Amcor P-Plus technology are all applied.
The Tesco new potato packs include Charlotte, Baby New, Miniature Baby New, Baby Bakers and Jersey Royals when in season.