OUT THE BOX

NOW THAT’S A GOOD IDEA...WEETABIX / MARS WRIGLEY

WEETABIX AND MARS CUT 177 TONNES OF PLASTIC A YEAR

FOOD GIANTS WEETABIX AND MARS WRIGLEY HAVE ANNOUNCED NEW SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS INTHE LAST WEEK, SAVING AT LEAST 177 TONNES OF PLASTIC PACKAGING A YEAR.

WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?

The war on plastic ratchets up a notch or two.

HOW SO?

Both Weetabix Food Company and Mars Wrigley unveiled new sustainability reports in the last week with their combined commitments to reducing their reliance on plastic packaging set to see a saving of around 177 tonnes of plastic a year, with further improvements expected in the future.

THAT’S A LOT OF PLASTIC...

To put it in some sort of context, Mars Wrigley helpfully points out that the 51 tonnes of plastic it will save a year by reducing the packaging on its pouch range by an average of 10% is the equivalent of taking 90 lorry loads off the road a year.

AND WEETABIX?

Weetabix has reduced its plastic use by 6% in the last year, with 92% of its packaging now fully recyclable. Smaller wrappers on Alpen Light bars save 24 tonnes of plastic per year, and removing 28% of plastic in its Weetabix wrappers saves 102 tonnes of plastic per year. The company is also on track to reduce the carbon footprint of its packaging by 20% in the next year. Earlier this year, the company also redesigned its Weetabix On The Go bottles to make them 100% recyclable and moved to a clear PET bottle made from 30% recycled plastic with scope to bring that up to 50% or higher in the future.

WHAT IS WEETABIX SAYING?

John Petre, Supply Chain and Technical Director, who leads the Weetabix Sustainability Steering Group said: “We’ve made great progress in the past year through challenging times. We’re committed to supporting our local community, our people and our customers, whether that’s sourcing all the wheat for Weetabix original from within a 50 mile radius of our factory in Burton Latimer or reducing the impact of our packaging and our carbon footprint.”

AND MARS WRIGLEY?

Nick Reade, Sales Director and Interim General Manager, Mars Wrigley UK, said: “As well as cutting back our plastic use, it means for some brands we can fit more packs into the boxes we ship, increasing our efficiency.

“Reducing our plastic use for some of our most popular items is our latest step in our ‘Sustainable in a Generation’ plan where we’re working towards a healthier planet and towards our goal of developing packaging that is 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable.”