Mondelēz confirms major move for plastic recycling for UK Cadbury sharing bars
Cadbury's Dairy Milk remains among the key chocolate brands for Mondelez International
A key environmental move has been unveiled by Mondelēz International with confirmation of a deal with industry specialists Amcor that will see the major manufacturer’s UK Cadbury sharing bars, manufactured in Bournville and Coolock, wrapped in 80% certified recycled plastic packaging, reports Neill Barston.
The business has in recent years placed an increasing focus on areas of its portfolio that can explore greater use of sustainable materials to improve its sustainability credentials across its snacking series.
The latest collaboration with packaging solutions business Amcor and Jindal Films, which has been among leading businesses making environmental strides in the segment, will phased in from 2025. It will aim to cover 300 million sharing bars across the UK&I Cadbury core tablet portfolio.
As the company noted, Amcor’s AmFiniti solution has been developed to convert post-consumer plastic waste into new products, providing Mondelēz International with a packaging solution that is made using 80% certified recycled plastic. It reportedly uses advanced recycling Material (ARM) that is suitable for food-grade applications.
The move will see the highest percentage of recycled flexible plastic used within the Cadbury brand globally. As part of this effort, 80% of the plastic used in the packaging can be attributed to recycled plastic through mass balance and ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) PLUS certification.
As the business added, consumers can also access a new platform via an on pack QR code to find out more about the sustainable packaging journey the Cadbury brand is taking and a consumer-friendly explanation about mass balance. The platform also features the Recycle Now locator from WRAP, enabling consumers to check local collection and recycling points for a wide range of packaging materials.
Louise Stigant, SVP and UK&I Managing Director, Mondelēz International believed the initiative would prove another significant milestone in its sustainability efforts. She said: “This is the latest move in our journey to increase our use of post-consumer recycled plastic across our Cadbury tablets portfolio in the UK&I” said .
“We remain focused on our long-term aim to offer more sustainable packaging, in particular flexible plastic packaging using advanced recycling technologies. For us this is based around a three-part approach aimed at reducing our packaging, evolving, and designing our packaging to be recyclable and improving systems by supporting the development of UK infrastructure and capabilities to collect, sort and recycle it back into food contact packaging.”
Kyra Chavalés, Global Key Account Manager at Amcor shared her enthusiasm for the venture, which is anticipated to form part of wider ongoing initiatives within the business.
“Mondelēz International’s implementation of the AmFiniti solution is a major step towards further advancing recycled plastic packaging across the global confectionary market. Amcor continues to work alongside our partners – such as Mondelēz – to enable brands to meet rising consumer demand for more responsible packaging, advance sustainability goals, and comply with upcoming EU regulations.”
Helen Bird, Head of Material System Transformation at WRAP comments added that tackling plastic wrapping remained a major challenge for industry as a whole, including collecting it at scale and fully re-using it as new packaging. She added that “this must be scaled far and wide across other companies and product ranges.”
