Earlier this year the retailer announced it was putting its fresh mushroom range in cardboard trays, its biggest removal of plastic to date.  

The latest switch will reduce plastic waste by nearly 700 tonnes a year, with fresh salmon and trout products moving over to pulp-based trays instead.

As part of the project, plastic trays for fresh breaded chicken and its Taste the Difference breaded fish will switch to cardboard material.  

Over the summer a number of seasonal finger food and BBQ ranges will also move over to the new packaging.

Sainsbury’s director of product and innovation Claire Hughes said salmon was one of the retailer’s most popular fish products, making it a priority to reduce the amount of plastic required to package it.

The changes will contribute to the Sainsbury’s Plan for Better targets. It has also launched a new ‘Good to Know’ logo informing customers about its sustainability actions and plans.

Hughes said: “We are now the first retailer to make the move to have recycled pulp card trays across all our bySainsbury’s and Taste the Difference salmon products, enabling a whopping 70% plastic reduction.

“Together with changes to our breaded fish and chicken packaging, we are set to save 694 tonnes of plastic a year – a significant step towards our plastic reduction goals.”

The pulp and cardboard trays can be recycled at home, while the film can be recycled at in-store flexible packaging recycling points, available at all Sainsbury’s branches.

Sainsbury’s has committed to reduce its own brand plastic packaging by 50%, to 34,920 tonnes, by 2025, as well as increase the recycled content and recyclability of its remaining plastic packaging.