Minister helps Sainsbury’s celebrate recycling programme

Minister helps Sainsbury’s celebrate recycling programme

19 March 2014

Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd MP presented the Forest Stewardship Council UK (FSC) with a cheque for more than £9,000 raised by Sainsbury’s innovative Christmas card recycling scheme.

The supermarket recycled over two million Christmas cards this year through store collection, home pickup by online delivery vans and collection points in government departments.

The scheme lets customers recycle Christmas cards and wrapping paper through their local store and reduces the amount of paper going to landfill.

Instead of taking profit from the returned material Sainsbury’s donates project proceeds to the FSC to help protect the world’s forests.

This year, Sainsbury’s put collection boxes in over 1,000 supermarkets and convenience stores across the country while online delivery customers could recycle using a new collect-from-home service.

Sainsbury's customers recycle over 250 tonnes of paper and card every month, equivalent to over a million newspapers.

Sainsbury’s Company Secretary Tim Fallowfield said: "We’re incredibly proud of our Christmas card recycling project, an innovative scheme that’s helping to protect our forests while getting even more Sainsbury’s customers involved in recycling."

Minister for Civil Society Nick Hurd said: "By cutting waste, reducing demand for natural resources and creating a cleaner environment and opportunities for new businesses, recycling is one of the ways in which we can all help make our communities healthier and more prosperous. I’m pleased we were able to participate in this scheme, giving civil servants the chance to make a contribution to a worthwhile cause and raising awareness of wider environmental issues."

Charles Thwaites, Executive Director of FSC UK, said: "For many years Sainsbury’s has most generously supported FSC UK through their Christmas card recycling scheme.

"We are particularly grateful because the donation goes a long way towards sustaining our education and outreach work, allowing us to spread the message about FSC and the importance of the world’s forests."

Notes to editors

  • Mixed paper and card: Each month Sainsbury's customers recycle over 250 tonnes of paper and card – that’s equivalent to over 1 million newspapers. Sainsbury’s sells over five million rolls of wrapping paper each year - enough to stretch from London to Tokyo and back
  • Sainsbury’s stock a range of FSC certified products, and products featuring FSC certified packaging.  100% of Sainsbury’s own brand tissue and baking paper is FSC certified. Sainsbury’s hold FSC trademark license FSC-N001631. FSC certified Christmas cards are also available from Sainsbury’s.
  • In June 2013, Sainsbury’s achieved its 20x20 sustainability target of putting all its store waste to positive use – and diverting it from landfill. Surplus food that can’t be used by our charity partners to feed vulnerable people is now processed into animal feed to support British farmers or used to generate energy through anaerobic digestion. And all general waste from stores is recycled or turned into fuel.
  • Sainsbury’s recycling banks complement existing kerbside collections and aim to enhance recycling rates.  They provide consistency for customers by offering standardised recycling containers for mixed paper and card, mixed glass, mixed plastics, mixed cans and textiles and books/CDs and DVDs for Oxfam. The new centres are helping Sainsbury's achieve its 20x20 Sustainability Plan goal to provide the most comprehensive facilities for its customers to make it easier for them to recycle.
  • FSC UK is a registered charity dedicated to protecting the world's forests. It promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world's forests. Our vision is for the world’s forests to meet the social, ecological, and economic rights and needs of the present generation without compromising those of future generations. FSC runs a global forest certification system. The FSC logo allows consumers to identify, purchase, and use timber and forest products produced from well-managed forests and verified recycled sources.  More than 180 million hectares of forest around the world are certified to FSC standards. FSC UK is one of 44 National Partner organisations working to promote FSC in their own countries. For more information see www.fsc-uk.org.