UK – Multinational food company Mars has kicked off a trial that will see its chocolate bars wrapped in recyclable paper packaging in the UK.
The trial will take place for a limited time and the Mars bars with paper packaging will be found in Tesco stores during the pilot which aims to explore different packaging options.
Mars bars’ current plastic wrappers cannot be recycled, as is the case with several other kinds of food packaging.
Richard Sutherland-Moore, packaging expert at Mars Wrigley UK’s research and development center in Slough, said: “We are exploring different types of alternative packaging solutions for our confectionery products.
“For Mars bar, the challenge was to find the right paper packaging solution with an adequate level of barrier properties to protect the chocolate while guaranteeing the food safety, quality and integrity of the product to prevent food waste.”
As part of the company’s Sustainable in a Generation Plan, it is investing hundreds of millions of pounds to ensure it meets its goal of reducing the use of virgin plastics by a third in the short term, which includes using less plastic, recycled plastic and plastic alternatives.
Adam Grant, general manager at Mars Wrigley UK, added: “With our Mars bar pilot project, we are taking a big step to see how paper-based packaging works in everyday life. From the test, we will derive insights for our sustainable packaging strategy.
“While challenges may impact progress towards our vision, we at Mars Incorporated are committed to scaling up viable solutions where recycling options exist, and to test, learn, partner and advocate where they don’t.”
The move also comes after the company achieved carbon neutrality for the first time in its history this year, achieved through carbon credits and carbon emission reductions.
Mars is not the first confectionery firm to test trading in its traditional wrapping for something a bit greener.
It follows the move by Quality Street to ditch its traditional foil and plastic wrappers for recyclable paper in time for last Christmas.
The change, made by the brand owner, Nestlé, marked the end of shiny plastic wrappers for the first time since its launch in 1936, favoring a kind of packaging collected by most local authorities for nine of its 11 sweets.
The orange crunch and green triangle remained in their existing foil wrappers, as these were not wrapped in a layer of plastic.
At the same time, Nestlé also announced it was switching KitKat wrappers to 80% recycled plastic, allowing them to be recycled at supermarkets across the UK or put in household recycling in Ireland.
For all the latest packaging and printing industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
