If convicted, the defendant faces a fine of up to $500,000, or twice the financial gain to the defendant or twice the financial loss to another, whichever is greater. The defendant is also liable for restitution to the victim.

It is alleged that ABC Polymer had a standard practice of operating the machine with the guard in the “up” or unprotected position when the rollers were moving. This is a violation of OSHA standards that require moving machinery to be guarded while the machine is energized. The automatic mechanism that would have stopped the line and rollers from spinning when the guard was in the up position was not used, according to the DOJ, allowing operators to reach between or near the roller drums to cut tangles in the plastic sheet without stopping the line.

There are 502 stores taking part in the scheme nationwide and a full list of supermarkets can be found on the Sainsbury’s website.

Claire Hughes, Director of Product and Innovation at Sainsbury’s said: “We’re really excited to announce the mass rollout of the Flexible Plastics Recycling scheme in over 520 of our stores, helping our customers to recycle more of their plastic packaging, instead of it ending up as waste.

Editor in chief of PlasticsToday since 2015, Norbert Sparrow has more than 30 years of editorial experience in business-to-business media. He studied journalism at the Centre Universitaire d'Etudes du Journalisme in Strasbourg, France, where he earned a master's degree.

OSHA reports on its website that the company was cited for 19 violations and initially fined $195,144. ABC Polymer ended up paying $155,338 and the case was closed on Aug. 30, 2019.

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It comes after a WRAP report estimated that flexible film contributed towards 290,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste in 2019.

Another wrote: “Hi Sainsbury’s, we have seen that some of your stores will be rolling out your largest flexible plastic packing system. It’s so great to hear, keep going!”

Aldi recently announced that it would be removing single-use plastic from all its own-brand teabags by the end of the year.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama earlier this week announced criminal charges against ABC Polymer Industries LLC for the death of a worker at its Helena, AL, plant. The employee, Catalina Estillado, was pulled through the spinning rollers of plastic sheet machinery on Aug. 16, 2017, and died as a result. The DOJ cites “willful violations of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards that led to a worker’s death” in its filing.

“Despite knowing of numerous prior worker injuries from using that machine without the safety guard engaged, ABC Polymer assigned the victim to cut tangles out of plastic sheeting from among the machine’s unguarded spinning rollers with a hand tool. The worker became entangled in the spinning rollers and was killed,” writes the DOJ.

“Making recycling easier for our customers is a key part of our strategy to minimise the impact of single-use plastics on the environment, alongside our own ambitious target of reducing the use of plastics in our own operations by 50 percent by 2025.”

Under the new scheme, common household items can be recycled including crisp packets, food pouches, salad bags as well as biscuit and cake wrappers.

Another said: “I love the idea, but Sainsbury’s need to cut down on the amount of single-use plastics in their stores too, so much everywhere.”

Pouches and sachets can also be recycled including toiletry refill pouches, pet food, baby pouches as well as bubble wrap and toilet roll wrapping.

Estillado’s family previously was awarded $3 million in a wrongful death lawsuit, reported Alabama-based media outlet 1819 News.

Taking to social media to share their thoughts, shoppers praised the new system which is Sainsbury’s largest ever recycling initiative.

Sainsbury’s recently announced it would be rolling out a soft plastics recycling initiative to 520 of its supermarkets following a successful trial. It allows customers to recycle packaging which would otherwise end up in a landfill. It comes as part of the supermarket’s aims to become more eco-friendly.

ABC Polymer manufactures flat plastic sheets using extrusion assembly lines that pull the plastic sheeting through multiple clusters of large spinning rollers, writes the DOJ in the Aug. 15 release announcing the charges. The machine at issue was manufactured with a metal barrier designed to protect operators from the pinch points of the moving rollers, as well as an “interlock” mechanism that stops the rollers from spinning if the guard is lifted, writes the DOJ.

She said: “Love this new scheme, going to make some real changes, please can you let me know which stores have these recycling collection points?”

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A third tweeted: “Others need to follow, I was amazed when I visited my local and saw it, looks rather easy to use too. I will definitely be making use of it.”

The new recycling points are placed at the front of stores, making it easier than ever for customers to place their items in the bins.

It's a Class B misdemeanor under federal law to willfully fail to follow an OSHA safety standard where the failure causes the death of an employee.