The British arm of PepsiCo has announced that its Walkers crisps brand is set to launch the UK’s first nationwide recycling scheme for crisp packets.
The move comes as Walkers aims to have all of its packaging 100% recyclable, compostable or biodegradable by 2025.
“We share people’s concerns about the amount of plastic in our environment and are working on a number of both short and long-term solutions to reduce the impact of our packaging,” said Ian Ellington, general manager of PepsiCo UK.
“Our new Walkers recycling initiative starts to tackle this issue right now by repurposing used crisp packets to create everyday items such as plant pots and benches. We hope people will embrace this idea and join us in ensuring crisp packets are recycled.”
Conversion
The scheme will encourage people to either drop off their packets at one of the hundreds of public access collection points that will be developed all around the country or alternatively post them for free directly to TerraCycle for recycling.
Once the packets have been collected they will be cleaned, shredded and turned into small plastic pellets which will then be converted into useful plastic items.
The scheme was developed in partnership with TerraCycle, the recycling company, and under the scheme, all crisp packets will be accepted.
“We’re delighted to be working with Walkers to launch the UK’s first nationwide recycling scheme for crisp packets. We hope other snacks manufacturers will follow suit, by investing in new ways to reduce the amount of packaging that goes to landfill and incineration,” Laure Cucuron added, general manager of TerraCycle Europe.
The new recycling scheme will start in December this year, with full details of exactly how it will work and locations of the nationwide collection points to be announced closer to the time.
Sustainability Goals
According to PepsiCo UK and Ireland, crisp packets are technically recyclable, however, they weren’t being separated or collected for recycling.
Walkers said that its investment is making this possible for the first time, and it will continue to focus ‘significant resources’ on developing the technology and infrastructure to make this happen.
“We’re determined to crack this in the long term and have a number of initiatives underway to create the right materials and environment for the crisp packets of the future,” Ellington concluded.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
