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It will be wrapped with a recyclable paper band, replacing the existing inner plastic polybagging, for copies delivered to retailers in parts of the south-east of England. The system will also be introduced for the magazine available with The Times from next weekend.
The banding will be phased into the titles across all regions of the UK and Ireland by mid-October as News UK rolls out paper banding regionally.
The shift to the new system for the two magazines will save 250 tonnes of plastic every year, according to the company.
The move is the last piece of News UK’s pledge to remove single-use plastic used to wrap its titles and inner magazines, having reduced the amount from 800 tonnes a year to zero now.
The Times and The Sunday Times removed single-use plastic outer polybagging in June 2019, replacing it with compostable alternatives or removing it completely for copies sold through supermarkets.
In October 2019, The Sun TV magazine removed its inner plastic polybagging, removing 350 tonnes of single-use plastic a year, from the Saturday issue. The Sun on Sunday phased out single-use plastic by the end of December 2019.
News UK retail director Neil Spencer said: “Retailers and readers have responded overwhelmingly positively to our plastics pledge and this latest paper band innovation is an industry-leading effort.
“Our suppliers have put plastics at the centre of their sustainability drive, building on their work reducing emissions through efficiency drives and sourcing 100% of paper from sustainable forest management systems. The insert process after this move remains unchanged for retailers.”
Michael Brunt, general manager of The Times and The Sunday Times, said: “Environmental sustainability remains an incredibly important issue and one we are proud to champion both in our titles and our supply chain.”
