Sainsbury's has announced it will begin to package its fresh fish in recycled plastic that has been "rescued" from the coast.
The material, known as Prevented Ocean Plastic (POP), will also be used to produce 80% of the retailer's strawberry punnets.
POP is made by collecting waste plastic discarded in coastal areas at risk of plastic pollution and recycling it back into fresh packaging.
Sainsbury's said the move will prevent nearly 12 million plastic bottles from entering the ocean each year as it attempts to reduce its environmental impact.
It also estimates it will create 6,531 days of employment for plastic bottle collectors.
Sainsbury's will be working with its packaging supplier, Sharpak, and the provider of POP, Bantam Materials, to roll out the change to more than a third (34%) of its fresh fish products.
Director of Product, Packaging and Innovation at Sainsbury’s, Claire Hughes, said: “Using Prevented Ocean Plastic is one change we’re making to our supply chain to help us remove, reduce, recycle and reuse plastic.
"Not only will it have a positive environmental impact by preventing plastic from polluting the ocean, but it will also have an important social impact by allowing our customers to make sustainable choices and support overseas coastal communities at risk of ocean plastic pollution.”
Director of Bantam Materials, Raffi Schieir, said: “Choosing products made from recycled content ensures recycling has already happened and use of new plastic has been reduced.
"We developed Prevented Ocean Plastic to be part of the solution to ocean plastic pollution and are delighted to be working with Sainsbury’s so they can provide their customers with a better plastic choice.”
Sainsbury's has pledged to halve its use of plastic packaging by 2025.
Earlier this year, the retailer removed plastic straws from its own brand lunchbox carton range, cut down the plastic packaging on its own brand pancake range by 86% and introduced new trial recycling facilities in 63 stores, allowing customers to recycle polypropylene plastic film – such as bread bags, frozen food bags, biscuits and cake wrappers.
It also announced a mass rollout of its first plant-based own-brand tea bags.
