Berry Global partners with Mars for 100% recycled plastic packaging

USA – Berry Global Group, Inc. has partnered with Mars to transition its pantry jars for M&M’S, SKITTLES, and STARBURST to 100% recycled plastic packaging, excluding the jar lids.

This milestone builds on their ongoing collaboration to incorporate recycled content into packaging. Following the 2022 launch of pantry jars made with 15% recycled plastic, the updated jars are now rolling out across the country. 

The new widely recyclable jars are made using mechanically processed post-consumer resin (PCR) and come in three sizes—60, 81, and 87 ounces.

This shift will eliminate over 1,300 metric tons of virgin plastic annually, roughly the weight of 238 African elephants.

Using recycled plastic collected from consumers, these jars help divert waste from landfills, reduce virgin plastic consumption, and lower carbon emissions, contributing to a circular economy.

Consumers can further support sustainability by placing empty jars—with their lids—into recycling bins, allowing the plastic to be repurposed into new products.

Berry’s production facility manufactures the easy-grip square jars, which utilize food-grade mechanically recycled resin sourced from curbside collection programs.

Leveraging its material science and packaging innovation expertise, Berry worked closely with Mars to develop a sustainable solution that aligns with both companies’ environmental goals without compromising product quality or aesthetics. 

Peter Goshorn, Vice President of Food, Beverage, and spirits at Berry Global’s Consumer Packaging North America Division, emphasized the importance of scaling sustainable solutions: “As companies worldwide commit to a circular economy, delivering products made with recycled materials at scale is crucial.

“That’s why we’re collaborating with leading brands like Mars to significantly increase the use of recycled content, driving responsible business growth without sacrificing performance or design.”

Mars’ commitment to sustainable packaging

As part of its Sustainable Packaging Plan, Mars has been actively redesigning its packaging portfolio to reduce plastic use and ensure all packaging is reusable, recyclable, or compostable.

Since 2017, Mars has worked with Berry to advance sustainable packaging innovations.

Allison Lin, Global Vice President of Packaging Sustainability at Mars, highlighted the company’s long-term vision, “In the world we want tomorrow, no packaging becomes waste—it is reused, recycled, or composted.

“That’s why we continue rethinking our approach and collaborating with companies like Berry. Reducing virgin plastic usage through recycled content is a crucial step in our strategy, alongside initiatives to remove unnecessary packaging, explore reuse models, and redesign packaging for circularity.

“Using recycled content also incentivizes improved collection systems and recycling infrastructure, which are essential for a circular economy.”

Mars is actively redesigning 12,000 packaging components for its broader sustainability strategy. Through partnerships like this, the company continues to push the boundaries of packaging innovation.

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