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Tesco's new plan to cut UK's waste mountain
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Correspondent16.10.09
Tesco has unveiled plans for a new scheme to cut the amount of food waste Britain creates.
The "Buy One Get One Free - Later" offer means customers will be encouraged to pick up the second item at a later date.
Environment Secretary Hilary Benn earlier this month called for the so-called "bogof" schemes to be scrapped.
The Government's waste watchdog estimates that 4.1million tonnes of food is thrown away each year, at an average cost of £420 per household.
Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, who was announcing the scheme at a climate change conference this morning, also pledged to turn Tesco into a zero carbon company by 2050. The retailer will introduce a "green concierge" service, offering customers advice on cutting their emissions.
"It is only by releasing our potential - as people, as consumers, as users - that we can turn targets into reality," said Sir Terry.
"It will be a transition achieved not by some invention or grand act of Parliament, but through millions of choices by consumers every day all over the world."
The plans come as a new report claims consumers are responsible for 75 per cent of UK greenhouse gas emissions.
Reader views (5)
So in fact it would just be an in-store customer loyalty scheme, like that operated by Boots.
The real problem is the mentality of someone taking the extra item just because it's there, and then thinking it's OK to chuck the food away because it was 'free': they probably also nick the bath-mat as well as the miniature soaps when they stay in a hotel. I'm sure a lot of people, like my father, use the BOGOF thing to stock-pile a lot of food for later in the year when the price is double.
If they are feeling truly pious perhaps they could launch a scheme where you buy one and give one free to a kid in Africa: Tesco could just donate the money to charity . . .
- Roz, France
Yes!!
Get one free later. At last. It'll save me the guilt of throwing away half the free pack when it goes off, and it'll encourage me back to Tesco later. Good both for me and for the store. Hopefully the other supermarkets will adopt this idea pronto - or they'll lose a lot of trade!
- Nigel, London
If they'd start labelling their packaging with the type of material it's made from it'd be a step in the right direction. Bizarrely they used to do this and seem to have stopped in the last few years, but frankly, for the sort of people that shop there regularly it'll make minimal difference anyway.
- Bob, Cheam
2050 is a bit late, this is not enough Tesco. You will need to invest a considerable amount of your massive profits to tackle waste now. Why not start by reducing the massive amount of packaging on your products and looking within the next few years to switch to biodegradable packaging. Secondly look at your lorries, vans and even your head office where thousands drive to work, one in each car.
- Dave, London
A good way of getting customers back in the shop. <yikes>
They must make sure that all items that are subject to this offer must be fully available for a stated time period - which must be made clear in large easily found print as part of the display.
- James, City of London
