Tesco to use blockchain-verified recycled plastics for fish packaging 

Tesco has partnered with Keep Sea Blue to collect and recycle tonnes of plastics from coastal areas and use them for its fresh fish packaging. The team has adopted blockchain technology to ensure transparency and complete traceability of the entire process.

Tesco taps blockchain for plastics recycling 

To significantly reduce plastic waste from the ocean, Tesco, a British multinational supermarket and general merchandise retailer, has partnered with Keep Sea Blue, an international non-profit organization focused on keeping the Mediterranean Sea plastic-free.

According to a blog post by Tesco, the collaboration will see both teams collecting various types of plastics from around at-risk coastal areas like beaches and communities within 10 km of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The team has adopted a custom blockchain solution powered by Oracle Blockchain to foster transparency and traceability of the entire plastics collection process and recycling.

Reducing plastic waste with blockchain 

Researchers say around 8 million pieces of plastic end up in the ocean every day, and there are now an alarming 5.25 trillion macro and micro pieces of plastic in the world’s ocean (46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile of the ocean), leading to the death of millions of aquatic animals every year.

Through its innovative blockchain-powered ocean plastic recycling initiative, Tesco hopes to remove around 500 metric tonnes of plastic waste from the environment annually and slash the amount of ‘virgin plastic’ used in its food packaging.

“Where we can, we are reducing the amount of new plastic we use in our business. Re-using coastal plastic in our fish packaging is one way we can do that and at the same time keep it out of the oceans.”

Sarah Bradbury, Tesco Quality Director

Blockchain technology is famous as the bedrock of bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. However, blockchain adoption across various sectors of the global economy has surged significantly in recent years, with notable names like IBM Japan, Security Matters (SMX) and a host of others leveraging its immutability feature for their recycling efforts.