The trial, described as a “first to market” for this type of tray, involves the retailer’s Fiery Chicken Tikka Masala.
M&S has partnered with 2 Sisters Food Group and Graphic Packaging International on the trial.
The FSC-certified tray became available in stores and on Ocado earlier this month.
M&S said it was “easily recycled at home as paper, with no need to remove the thin plastic lining”.
The trial will remove 150,000 units of plastic, but has wider potential if it is rolled out across the entire Meal for Tonight range.
M&S Food technical director Andrew Clappen commented: “Our Plan A roadmap is focused on how we can become a Net Zero business across all our operations and entire supply chain by 2040 and we’re constantly looking for new ways to do things to try and take big steps along that journey.
“We know customers care about reducing the amount of plastic packaging and we’re determined to help them by finding new materials and processes to make sure our packaging is as easy to recycle as possible.”
He added: “I want to congratulate the team on all their hard work over the last couple of years testing and trialling different materials and I can’t wait to hear what customers think of the new tray.”
M&S has committed to remove one billion units of plastic by the end of FY27/28, as part of its Plan A roadmap. It has now achieved the halfway goal of this target with 500m units removed by the end of March 2025.
