Weetabix on track to hit 99 per cent recyclable packaging milestone
UK-based cereals company is set to reach 100 per cent recyclable packaging well ahead of 2025 deadline
The parent company behind Weetabix has announced that 99 per cent of its packaging will be widely recyclable by next summer, while it works towards reaching a 100 per cent target ahead of the 2025 deadline proposed by the UK Plastics Pact.
Weetabix is not a signatory of the Plastics Pact – which was established by waste reduction charity WRAP and asks companies to commit to making 100 per cent of their packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025 – but it expects to exceed the initiative’s target date by achieving 99 per cent recyclable packaging by summer 2022.
The company is set to switch its Protein range of On The Go drinks to a recyclable PET bottle made with 51 per cent recycled content and plans to roll out a recyclable paper wrap across all of its biscuits to reach the 99 per cent target.
“Ultimately, all our packaging decisions are based on whether they reduce our overall carbon footprint,” said John Petre, head of Supply Chain and Technical at Weetabix Food Company. “Since food waste is a big contributor to carbon emissions and environmental damage, our concern is always to balance packaging innovation against that risk.
“Facing down this milestone of reaching 99 per cent recyclable packaging is a huge testament to the hard work of the team. At this stage all the low-hanging fruit is long gone and the decisions that remain take a lot of hard work and dedication to get the innovations right. We had to do a lot of research and testing with our On The Go Drinks bottle in order to launch the fully recyclable bottle last year and we’re delighted to be rolling that out for our Protein range as well later this year.”
Alongside the announcement, Weetabix also published its 2021 Sustainability Report that highlights its progress against its environmental commitments and details a new partnership with Smartest Energy to supply Weetabix’s factories with solar, wind, and water-powered renewable energy in a bid to reduce operational emissions.The company has also invested in a project to capture and reuse water that becomes steam during its manufacturing process, saving over one million litres of water annually, received the sustainable farming UTZ certification for its cocoa products, and sourced all of its wheat from within a 50-mile radius of its mills in Northamptonshire.
