We have made a conscious decision to stick with plastic packaging in the UK after looking at a full life cycle analysis of plastic vs. paper.
We found that paper actually has a much higher environmental impact through deforestation, loss of natural resources and lack of reuse opportunities. The research also noted that plastic becomes more environmentally damaging when it is not recycled correctly, which is why we have created a closed loop system with our plastic packaging. The plastic packaging we receive in store and at our warehouse is sent to a central recycling centre where it is processed back into a raw material and used to make our online order bags.
We are working on sharing this message with our customers and encouraging them to bring their online order bags and plastic back into store where we can recycle it for them.