John West, the tinned fish manufacturer, has cut excess packaging by introducing a fully recyclable aluminium strip.
Dubbed SmartStrip, the innovation allows the tuna maker to axe the shrink wrap and cardboard on its packaging and replace it with a small strip.
The packaging is accompanied by a label consisting of a diagram and instructions to “Twist and Pull me!”
The packaging overhaul means that John West will save 400 tonnes of steel annually, it says.
The new packaging also makes way for a reduction in the amount of contents in the product, the sunflower oil, spring water, or brine, saving an additional 1,500 tonnes of ingredients that John West claims consumers simply throw down the sink.
John West managing director Mark Doherty said: “Ecotwist is the best packaging and product we have ever brought to our consumers. We have spent three years developing Ecotwist to reduce packaging waste in our consumers’ lives and to make our quality products taste and look even better.
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“It’s the ultimate faff-free solution to busy lives – storing and opening the cans is so easy and thanks to no excess packaging, recycling has never been easier, saving our consumers time to enjoy our healthy and nutritious products.”
John West’s latest innovation comes amid its ambition to move all their products into sustainable packaging by the end of next year.
In June this year, Sainsbury’s said it was introducing packaging changes across its own-brand chicken and fish lines, as part of what it describes as a “significant step towards our plastic reduction goals”.
