Green makeover for humble shopping basket

The humble food shopping basket is going green.  The Co-operative Group has announced today (Monday 5 April) the roll out of the UK’s first 100% recycled plastic shopping basket to thousands of its food stores across the country.

The only fully recycled shopping basket of its kind, the “new generation” baskets are made from plastic materials that would usually be sent to landfill or for incineration.
 
The roll out follows successful trials in selected stores, where the baskets received a big “thumbs-up” from customers.  By the end of this year, some 94,500 baskets will be in use in around 1,000 Co-operative stores, saving 66 tonnes of plastic from landfill or incineration, and 66 tonnes of CO2. The new baskets will eventually be rolled out to all 3,000 Co-operative stores nationwide.

The ultra lightweight baskets are ergonomically designed to curve round the leg to provide maximum comfort when carried. The handle is also designed to make the baskets easier and more comfortable to carry, without putting any undue strain on the wrist.

This is just the latest in a long line of innovative recycling initiatives from The Co-operative Group, whose Manchester head office complex is also home to the North West’s largest in-house office waste recycling centre.  

In 2007, the Group introduced its pioneering “Closing the Loop” scheme, which involves collecting waste paper from the head office complex, which is then recycled and used in to make own-brand recycled bathroom tissue and kitchen towel sold in Co-operative stores.
 
Sean Toal, Commercial Director at The Co-operative Food, commented: "We’re proud to be at the forefront of green product innovation, and we’re sure our customers will welcome the new generation of shopping baskets, which, as well as being kinder to the environment, are much easier to carry.”