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Lidl UK will become the first supermarket in the country to introduce Prevented Ocean Plastic to its water bottle packaging. Prevented Ocean Plastic packaging – supplied and developed by Bantam Materials – is fully certified recycled plastic that has been made from discarded water bottles found in Southeast Asia within 30 miles of a coastline or major waterway that feeds into the ocean. This waste is sorted and processed before being used in packaging, the entire process is fully traceable with a documented chain of accountability. It meets regulatory health and safety standards, is traceable back to the source and can be identified on products by its triangular blue logo. From July, Lidl’s San Celestino Italian sparkling mineral water bottles will contain a minimum of 30% Prevented Ocean Plastic. The company expects this permanent change to prevent the equivalent of nearly 4 million plastic water bottles from entering the sea each year. Lidl began to work with the initiative in 2020 when the supermarket introduced food packaging that used Prevented Ocean Plastic. It has since been rolled out across Lidl’s own-brand fresh fish, breaded poultry, sausage and fresh fruit products. Shyam Unarket, head of responsible sourcing and ethical trade at Lidl UK, said: “Ocean plastic pollution is a pressing environmental concern, it is expected that by 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish. As pioneers of integrating ocean-bound plastic into our packaging in 2020, we have been consistently building and improving on our efforts since, and are proud to now extend Prevented Ocean Plastic into water bottles. Through this latest product development, we hope to inspire wider efforts across the industry.” In another bid to increase its sustainability credentials, over the next two months and in partnership with Müller and Cornish Farm, Lidl plans to transition its entire milk range to clear caps.