Greene King saves 25,000 tubs from landfill

Greene King’s Tub2Pub recycling scheme has enjoyed a record-breaking year, saving over 25,000 plastic tubs from landfill and raising more than £5,000 for charity.

This year, 2,900kg of empty plastic sweets and biscuits tubs were collected at Greene King pubs; that is 25,217 plastic tubs which would otherwise risk ending up in landfill.

It is the third year Greene King has partnered with co-cre8, who specialises in recycling the polypropylene tubs into granulated plastic, to run the Tub2Pub initiative. The resulting plastic granules from the recycled tubs are then used to make outdoor furniture by DCW Polymers.

The collection means £5,191 has been raised for Greene King’s charity partner Macmillan Cancer Support.

Customers could take their empty tubs to 1,600 Greene King pubs nationwide in January and February for recycling. These tubs cannot always be recycled at many of the usual kerbside waste collections, so the network of pubs provided convenient drop-off points and a recycling solution.

"This is a fantastic effort and shows a brilliant way that our pubs can work with our customers and our communities to tackle waste and reduce the impact on the environment," says Vance Fairman-Smith, Greene King’s supply chain director. "These tubs are traditionally given over the festive season so it’s ideal for our pubs to act as collection points at the start of the year. Tub2Pub is good for customers, the environment and good for charity. Thank you to everyone who has helped us reduce the number of tubs going to landfill and raise money for Macmillan at the same time."

Greene King has committed to a 50% reduction of Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions (direct and indirect) by 2030 through the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) and a net zero target of 2040. The brewer and pub operator is also a founding member of the Zero Carbon Forum, comprising hospitality and brewing businesses who are working together to reach carbon net zero.

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