Veolia upcycles Tesco packaging into furniture

13 Aug 2024 --- Waste management service provider Veolia is recycling soft plastics dropped off by customers at Tesco stores into outdoor furniture and garden equipment in a series of community gardens designed for NHS Property Services.

Veolias’ recycling process can turn soft plastic such as bread bags and crisp packets into items such as benches, decking, tables and raised beds. 

Adam Wylie, managing director for commercial at Veolia says: “Utilizing recycled materials in green spaces and collaborating across private and public bodies to deliver these socially prescribing gardens is a testament to how we can and must all work together to deliver ecological transformation.” 

Tony McElroy, Tesco’s head of campaigns, adds: “It’s fantastic to see the soft plastic that our customers are returning being turned into something new that will benefit communities and help give young people a stronger start in life. It’s still our absolute priority to remove and reduce as much plastic as possible and make sure everything we use is recycled and kept out of the environment.” 

Upcycling packaging waste 

The recycled gardening products will be donated to the NHSPS Social Prescribing Programme to introduce nature around health centers for use by patients and the local community. 

Veolia recycles soft plastic such as bread bags to give them a new purpose.The program is coordinated by environmental and community charity Groundwork and works in partnership with government-owned health estate organization NHS Property Services and the UK’s leading resource management company Veolia.

The project will see gardens created in community locations across the country with furniture and equipment made from thousands of pieces of soft plastic returned to stores by Tesco customers. For example, a bench uses more than 2,500 pieces of soft plastic to create.

Dr. Min Rodriguez, head of social impact at NHSPS, says: “We are really proud of the impact our social prescribing sites have had on individuals and communities — just between 2022 and 2023, we have reached 60,000 patients.”

“This collaboration with Tesco, Veolia and Groundworks highlights the potential of innovative partnerships to not only create vibrant spaces for public benefit but also to drive positive change in healthcare and environmental sustainability. And it’s particularly special that we are repurposing soft plastics instead of increasing waste.” 

Creating hubs

The first of the gardens will be created at the John Scott Health Centre in London, owned by NHS Property Services, and will include trellising, decking, raised beds, seating and tables made from recycled bread bags, crisp packets, yogurt tops and other pieces of soft plastic. 

The garden is one of the 100 hubs and green spaces designed and delivered as a part of NHSPS’ social prescribing program. 

Social prescribing aims to provide non-clinical routes to treatment for people with social or health issues, giving them more choice and freedom to receive support. 

Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK chief executive, says: “This is a great example of innovative thinking to minimize plastic waste while improving much-needed open spaces in local communities.” 

“We’re proud to be playing our part in delivering this project with the sustainable design expertise and nature-based solutions brought by our Landscape Architects and look forward to seeing the benefits it brings to communities and the environment.”