The biscuit maker is the latest manufacturer to sign the Waste & Resources Action Programme’s (WRAP’s) UK Plastics Pact, following in the footsteps of food industry signatories Cranswick, ABP Food Group and Tulip.
In an effort to improve labelling, Pladis has joined the On-Pack Recycling Label scheme, to ensure consumers are clear on how and where to recycle their packaging.
Extended partnership
The manufacturer has also extended its six-and-a-half-year partnership with TerraCycle, so that all its plastic packaging across the portfolio can now be recycled through the initiative. This included flexible plastic packaging that most council collection schemes cannot recycle.
Consumers can either send their wrappers to TerraCycle by freepost or drop them off at one of nearly 500 collection points around the country.
Customer vice-president at Pladis UK & Ireland Scott Snell, said: “We’ll be working closely with industry partners to make all our plastic packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025, and in the meantime, we want to make sure all our consumers have the opportunity to recycle their wrappers, which is why we’ve extended our TerraCycle partnership to our entire snacking range.
“97% of households buy biscuits over the festive period, and the vast majority of these contain plastic packaging that could be recycled through Pladis’ TerraCycle partnership so now is the perfect time to start recycling those wrappers.”
Eliminate single-use plastics
Launched in 2016, the UK Plastics Pact sought to eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging through redesign, innovation or alternative delivery models.
WRAP chief executive Marcus Gover added: “We are delighted to have Pladis UK and Ireland joining the UK Plastics Pact.
“Through our first-of-a-kind Pact we will work together with governments, citizens and business to transform the way we make, use and dispose of plastic so that we retain its value, particularly in reducing food and drink waste, but prevent it from polluting the environment.”
Meanwhile, an initiative to turn food waste into environmentally friendly plastic packaging has received a £60m funding boost from the Government.