A Scottish potato business has cut almost 27 tonnes of plastic from its packaging in a year.

Scotty Brand said it introduced a raft of plastic-saving measures across its range to help protect the environment in September 2019 which included thinner, recyclable plastic on its 2kg potato bags, Baby Potato bags and Chippy Chip packs and removing trays inside its Baking Potato packs.

In total, these steps have seen Scotty Brand save 26,890kg of plastic.

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The plastic savings are part of a wider initiative to protect the environment with parent company Albert Bartlett also introducing reduced thickness, recyclable bags in a move which has seen a saving of 92 tonnes of plastic across the business.

The Airdrie-based business, which works with producers around Scotland, currently places prominent recycling messaging on the front of its bags and packs.

It also offers guidance on its site showing which parts of its packaging can be widely recycled – such as the plastic berries punnets, and soup pots and lids, as well as the parts of its packaging for which it is working to find a recycling solution.

Michael Jarvis, of Scotty Brand, said: “We source the best seasonal Scottish produce from our family of farmers around Scotland and we want to do our bit to make sure the earth and environment where they grow their produce are as healthy as possible. We have been taking steps over the last year to introduce thinner plastic bags and remove plastic trays and we’re proud to say we’ve saved almost 27 tonnes of plastic.

“We’re continuing to look at other ways to use more recyclable materials and do as much as we can to help protect the planet and minimise food waste – in itself a substantial contributor to greenhouse gases. We give our wholehearted support to campaigns such as the WRAP’s (Waste and Resources Action Programme) called 'Wasting Food: it’s out of date'.

David Moon, of WRAP, said: “Scotty Brand’s parent company Albert Bartlett is an active member of Courtauld 2025, and is focussed on food waste prevention.

"Reducing plastic packaging should never be at the expense of protecting the food it contains, and it’s great to see the company reduce its plastic footprint while avoiding unnecessary food waste.”

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