Bread brand Hovis are asking their customers to keep using their plastic bread bags to help with recycling to help save the environment as they continue their steps on sustainability
Legendary bread brand Hovis is urging buyers to store bread in its original packaging. The company is working with UK Plastic Pact to reduce unnecessary waste of their bread bags.
Their collaboration will ensure that 100 per cent of plastic packaging that the loaves come in is reusable, recyclable, or compostable. As well as making the bread bag more eco-friendly to produce, they want the plastic to be reused too.
Hovis aims for 70 per cent of the plastic packaging to be effectively recycled or composted by them. This is in addition to their hope that at least 30 per cent of their plastic bags will be recycled by their customers.
Since 2020, Hovis has been innovating their packaging to help with sustainability. This came after a survey in 2019 found that 31 per cent of customers weren’t sure what was deemed as recyclable, while only 10 per cent of local authorities recycled their plastic bags.
Reacting to this, Hovis set out to make recycling easier. The company began removing all hard-to-recycle plastic coating from their flow-wrapped products.
Since January 2021, the bread makers have started to introduce pallet wrap with 30 per cent recycled content as well as making their bread baskets reusable and returnable.
These changes have been welcomed by the public. Reports show that three out of four consumers recognise the positives of recycling and see it as beneficial to helping the planet, according to research by the On-Pack Recycling Label.
Getting loaves from the bakery to the shops relies on vans for transport, but Hovis are keen to ensure that this in more eco-friendly too. To ensure minimal impact on the environment, the company has worked to lower each vehicle’s emissions.
These bread vans, which weigh a whopping 7.2 tonnes, were introduced in 2019. Since then, they have helped the company save gallons of fuel which would have been let out into onto the road and air.
Sustainability isn’t limited to delivery and packaging though, as Hovis is also keen to reduce food waste. To help with this, they have three brilliant tips to make sure less food ends up in the bin. Firstly, always use the end pieces from your loaf.
If you’re unlikely to finish a loaf, pop it in the freezer, as you can toast the bread from frozen. And lastly, to keep your bread fresher for longer, tie a knot in the end of the bread bag.
