LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND -- The John Lewis Partnership -- which operates John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets in the United Kingdom -- is developing a closed-loop waste plastics strategy in partnership with Liverpool-based recycler Centriforce Products Ltd.

The arrangement will guarantee that thousands of tons of plastics waste from Waitrose and John Lewis shops will be recycled into useable products.

The contract is part of the John Lewis Partnership's strategy to streamline its waste contractors and keep complete control and responsibility for its waste flows, ensuring as much as possible is recycled.

The retailer is also exploring opportunities to reuse Centriforce products such as plastic planks and sheeting in its new store construction program to achieve a true closed loop in its plastics waste stream.

"We want to be completely transparent in our approach to waste management and ensure that as much as possible is recycled and then reused in our own businesses," said Mike Walters, recycling and waste operations manager for the John Lewis Partnership.

"We are committed to keeping ownership of our waste all the way to its final destination, rather than selling it to the highest bidder, or losing control over what happens to it."

Centriforce will collect more than 3,000 metric tons of plastics waste from John Lewis and Waitrose distribution centers across the United Kingdom annually and bring the waste to its Liverpool manufacturing center.