Snap, crackle and … crumbs? Are cereal boxes toast, now?

Sainsbury’s continue to seek ways to improve their green credentials, and to cut the amount of wasteful packaging on their goods. The Sunday Times reported that they introduced ‘milk-in-a-bag’ – polythene bags containing 2 litres of milk which can be transferred to a jug-style holder, and which have 75% less packaging than the rigid plastic bottles. Their next move has been to take some own-brand cereal out of cardboard boxes, and on Friday they introduced their own brand of Rice Pops in recyclable plastic packets similar to those used for crisps.

Kelloggs say they are considering doing the same, although Nestle have no plans to do so at present. A problem with the plastic bag for cereal is keeping it from being crushed either on the way to the supermarket or on the way home – but we manage to do this with packets of crisps, so presumably we can manage it for cereals as well. Reducing the volume of packaging is certainly to the advantage of the supermarkets, as it cuts the space used per pack in it’s delivery lorries so fewer lorries are needed, cutting both their costs and their carbon emissions.