Craft soda brand Dalston’s to eliminate shrink-wrap plastic

UK craft soda brand Dalston’s has switched from shrink-wrap to cardboard for all its multipacks, a move it claims will eliminate 24 tonnes of plastic within two years.

The brand’s cherryade, fizzy elderflower and real lemonade drinks were repackaged in cardboard cubes, with four cans per pack, from 1 June.

It follows growing pressure on plastics, particularly in the UK, with many brands, retailers and foodservice operators opting to go without.

The latest move, announced earlier today, was a decision by McDonald’s UK & Ireland to replace plastic straws with paper in all of its restaurants by 2019.

The brand is absorbing the additional expense of switching to cardboard.

Dalston’s managing director Dan Broughton said: “With the grocery carbonated soft drink aisle overflowing with plastic packaging, we thought it was about time that we did something to start positive, sustained change. We really hope this prompts others to follow our lead.”

The initiative coincides with a new listing for the brand in 387 outlets of supermarket chain Sainsbury’s.

Broughton continued: “We had to jump through a lot of hoops to make this change happen before Sainsbury’s went live – the lack of options for this kind of pack was staggering! Also, to make it possible, we’ve absorbed the initial extra costs involved, as we believe a change like this not only benefits the environment but is what consumers are crying out for.”