THE University of Chester and its Green Chester Team - which supports a sustainable world for present and future generations - took delivery of bread from the sky to mark the switch of a bakery’s top selling loaves into a revolutionary new paper packaging.
Doing something ‘drastic about plastic’, Roberts has reduced plastic in its bread bags by 53% - switching its core ranges into sustainably sourced paper. It’s the first bakery brand in the UK to do so.
Heather Johnson, Environmental Admin Assistant, with Tamara Hunt, Sustainability Officer at the University of Chester, take a Robert bread delivery by drone
Dubbed the Bread Arrows, the drones performed an acrobatic display to mark the new paper bags hitting shelves of 300 Tesco stores across Chester and the UK – giving the nation’s bread buyers an environmentally-friendly option.
Tamara Hunt, Sustainability Officer at the University of Chester, said: “Here at the University we are committed to reducing the waste we create. Our Catering Team won a Green Gown Award in 2016 for the introduction of Eco-Takeout boxes to reduce the use of polystyrene containers. Over the last 18 months in particular, we have seen a huge increase in awareness and commitment from our students and staff to taking action against plastic waste.
“We are passionate about removing single use plastic from our day-to-day lives and spend a lot of time encouraging others to do the same, for example switching to reusable water bottles. We have installed 26 water dispensers across our campuses. Using the dispensers to refill our bottles, cups and glasses has meant that, to date, we have avoided using 450,000 plastic bottles, which is a fantastic total.
“The University’s Library Team has also run the Caring Cups campaign, over the last year, collecting and reusing disposable coffee cups to fundraise for a local homeless charity. And at one of our Sustainability Forums, the Plastic Free Chester campaign provided our students and staff with simple steps that can be taken to reduce the use of single-use plastic.
“However, it can be difficult to avoid plastic packaging when buying everyday essentials, so it’s great to see a bread manufacturer taking responsibility and making it easier for the people of Chester to be able to recycle packaging with confidence.”
Heather Johnson (left), Environmental Admin Assistant, Tamara Hunt, Sustainability Officer, Bradley Newsome, Commercial Head Chef, and Chris Murphy, Head Chef at University of Chester with Roberts loaves – dropped by drone in new sustainable packaging
UK bakeries produce 10,700 tonnes of hard-to-recycle plastic packaging every year. Most goes straight to landfill or it must be taken to specialist recycling points. Roberts is the first bakery brand to come up with a bag that can be put into the paper or mixed recycling bin.
Roberts’ favourite white and wholemeal sliced loaves are now packaged in the same paper bag as its Bloomers and tummy-friendly Digestion Boost Bloomers ranges - taking potential volume to eight million loaves, that’s 20% of the bakery’s annual production.
The bakery’s Innovation Director, Alison Ordonez says: “Plastic is an increasingly important topic for us all. This latest development represents a big shift in beginning to address the problems it poses in the bread industry. But it’s not an easy task. Delivering fresh bread - of the quality that our consumers love - in a paper bag rather than plastic, is more challenging because you need the ‘preserving’ layer of plastic to keep the bread fresh.”
The new bag has 53% less plastic than before and is made from sustainably-sourced paper with a very thin poly prop coating to ensure that the loaves stay fabulously fresh.
Alison continued: “Our vision is to become the next generation bakery, and we’ve taken the lead in developing packaging solutions first. It’s part of our ongoing journey to become 100% plastic-free. If we don’t start acting, there won’t be a next generation – we feel really strongly about that.”
Importantly, the cost of the loaves remains the same. Mindful that price is often quoted as a barrier to consumers reducing their plastic consumption, the bakers have managed to retain the usual RSP of £1.15.
Supporting the switch, The Recycling Association’s Chief Executive, Simon Ellin, said: “I welcome the progress made by Roberts bakery towards an eventual single material packaging solution for its bread. The team there has engaged with us on its plans to reduce the packaging from a predominantly plastic to paper-based option. It’s a great example of how manufacturing companies can work with the recycling supply chain to meet the needs of both."
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