A company in the same family of firms as fresh produce giant Worldwide Fruit has helped Waitrose continue down the road of reducing packaging.
The Fruition group, along with Sharpak and Nespak, both of whom are part of the Groupe Guillin-France, has developed a punnet for the Waitrose Perfectly Ripe Pear range using expanded polypropylene (EPP).
The range, which accounts for over 40 per cent of all pears sold within Waitrose, has historically been packed in expanded polystyrene in order to give the fruit the protection that fully ripened pears require.
Over the last number of years, Fruition has been researching alternative materials that can offer the same level of protection and offer a better environmental position.
Rik Connor, business unit manager at Fruition, said: 'This is a fantastic achievement after many years of working towards a more environmental solution that Sharpak have managed to provide to the Waitrose customers.'
Stefan De Cristoforo, technical manager at Waitrose said: 'Although packaging is not at the forefront of our customers' minds, they expect Waitrose to always be as environmentally friendly as possible. This move to EPP material will reduce the volume of non-recyclable material by 20 tonnes this year, and we hope to develop additional lines into using EPP.'
Fruition is owned 50:50 by Fruition PO, the UK’s largest apple and pear grower group, and Enza, New Zealand’s largest apple and pear exporter.
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