Yoplait unveils eco-friendly clear bottles with 35% rPET in UK push for circular packaging

UK – Yoplait has introduced a new clear bottle design for its Yop yoghurt drink, made with 35% recycled PET (rPET), as part of its ambitious drive to achieve 100% recyclable packaging by the end of 2025.

The redesign includes a transparent bottle, an attached cap compliant with the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive, and a micro-perforated sleeve to aid recycling.

The updated packaging applies to both the 500g and 825g Yop formats, which will now be sold in bottles comprising up to 50% rPET.

The switch to clear PET is a deliberate move to align with industry standards for easier detection and sorting in recycling streams—an improvement over opaque or coloured plastics, which are harder to process.

The bottle also features a micro-perforated shrink sleeve with clear consumer instructions to remove it before recycling.

This step is crucial for efficient material recovery, as shrink sleeves often interfere with automated recycling systems.

The attached cap ensures that loose caps don’t become litter and enables better material capture during recycling.

Antoine Hours, general manager at Yoplait UK, stated, “Our ambition is for all of our packaging to be recyclable by the end of 2025.

“The move to PET and inclusion of rPET in our Yop bottles this year, and last year’s shift to PET for our Petits Filous, Wildlife, Peppa Pig, and Paw Patrol pots, have marked significant milestones in that journey.

“We are confident we can become a more circular brand as recycling technologies and infrastructure evolve.”

The new bottle also incorporates Yoplait’s updated logo and emphasizes that Yop is a yoghurt drink, not a flavoured milk, to help better inform consumers.

Yoplait’s announcement is part of a broader industry trend. Dairy and beverage brands are revamping their packaging to meet stricter environmental regulations and growing consumer demand for sustainable choices.

In March, rival Danone announced plans to increase the rPET content across its European Actimel and Volvic brands. Müller recently unveiled trials using tethered caps and fully recyclable sleeves on its yoghurt drink bottles.

Yoplait’s move signals a clear commitment to eco-design, recyclability, and consumer engagement, elements critical to advancing the circular economy in the food and beverage sector.

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