Tesco Achieves 100 Percent Waste Diversion

The United Kingdom’s largest grocery chain, Tesco, announced that it now diverts all of its waste from landfills through a combination of recycling, composting and waste-to-energy methods.

This goal was accomplished a year ahead of schedule, with 2010 being the original deadline. The policy is in effect for 2,315 retail stores, as well as the company’s distribution centers.

One key for reaching 100 percent diversion includes finding alternatives for waste that is difficult to recycle. For example, Tesco takes expired meat and converts it into electricity, creating 2,500 mega watt hours so far. This energy is also being plugged into the country’s electricity grid to potentially power consumer homes.

Tesco stores participate in wide recycling initiatives, such as cardboard recycling that turns old cardboard into new boxes that are back in stores within 14 days. Photo: Tesco PLC

Tesco points out that both energy conservation and waste reduction are steps toward preventing climate change. “Climate change is the biggest challenge facing us today and businesses such as Tesco have a responsibility to provide leadership,” said Tesco Executive Director Lucy Neville-Rolfe. “As well as research and development, improving our own operations and helping customers to make easy, green choices are the best way to combat climate change.”

The company reports that it generates about 585,000 tons of waste annually and recycles over 72 percent of that content.

The remaining waste is diverted via material recovery facilities, in-vessel composting, anaerobic digestion, mechanical biological treatment, mechanical heat treatment or energy generation from waste.

Tesco also committed to utilizing less packaging in the first place and earlier this year was rated the British retailer with the lowest packaging volume.