Waitrose to start new recycling trial in some UK stores from next week - full list of locations
Waitrose will be the first major supermarket to implement the change
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Waitrose has announced it will trial cork recycling to reduce waste, with seven stores trying out the initiative.
The trial will start on October 7, with Waitrose becoming the first major supermarket to carry out the scheme.
Individual collection points will be set up in Waitrose Salisbury, followed by Saltash, Lymington, Bath, Godalming, Truro and Maidenhead in November.
Shoppers will be encouraged to deposit their used natural corks for recycling via Amorim, the largest cork processing group in the world.
'This trial is a fantastic way for us to reduce waste and play a part in improving our sustainability'
Waitrose
MW and beer, wine and spirits global bulk wine sourcing manager, Barry Dick, commented: "Waitrose customers get through a corking nearly 25 million natural corks a year.
"Currently this valuable material does not have its own waste stream, which means it ends up in landfill.
"Cork is a durable material and has the potential to be repurposed into a variety of products after it has been used as a wine cork.
"This trial is a fantastic way for us to reduce waste and play a part in improving our sustainability as a category.
"Once we’ve gauged our customer’s appetite to return their natural corks, we’re hoping to roll the trial out to further stores from next year."
Recycled natural cork can be repurposed into a wide range of new applications including mulch, placemats, coasters, flooring and shoes.
Waitrose explained that it will use the trial to determine how best to roll it out more widely, with "hopes of exploring innovative applications of recycled cork" in the future.
Director of ethics and sustainability at John Lewis Partnership, Marija Rompani, also commented on the recycling test run.
She said: "I’m excited to kick off this trial and learn about how we can help reduce unnecessary waste of such a great material.
"We’re always looking for ways to reduce waste and keep materials in circulation as a crucial element of our Ethics & Sustainability commitments, and this trial will add another layer to the work we have across the Partnership."
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