Roberts has become the UK’s first bakery brand to achieve 100% recyclable packaging on one of its bread ranges.

The three-strong artisan Bloomers range - which includes Heroic Wholemeal, Wondrous White and Seriously Seeded – will be packaged in materials which are 100% recyclable in household kerbside collection bins.

By replacing the previous polypropylene plastic window to polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the bakery is taking its first step in its commitment to making all its packaging 100% recyclable or compostable.

It’s also a move that supports Roberts’ sustainability aspirations and meets growing consumer and customer demands and expectations for manufacturers to provide alternatives to plastic packaging.

Almost a third of plastic packaging used by UK supermarkets is either non-recyclable through standard collection schemes or is difficult to recycle. And with 97% of consumers buying the equivalent of nearly 1.5 billion loaves a year - that’s 4.2 million a day according to Kantar World Panel 17th June 2018 - there’s a lot of plastic or non-recyclable packaging produced by UK bakers. Roberts estimates the weight of packaging not widely recyclable is 10,500 tonnes which equates to 60 blue whales.

Large plant bakeries, like Roberts, are responsible for 85% of UK bread production, so the introduction of its 100% recyclable packaging for its Bloomer range aims to help improve these rates.