NEWS


Mars ‘unlikely’ to meet 2025 plastics targets


In its latest sustainability report, Mars, the US-head- quartered manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products, says though it has succeeded in some areas, it is unlikely to meet all the goals needed to fulfil its commitment to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation by the end of 2025.


When it signed onto the Ellen MacArthur Founda- tion’s Global Commitment, which “unites businesses, governments, NGOs, and investors behind a common vision of a circular economy”, Mars set targets that: 100% of its packaging would be reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025; it would reduce its use of virgin plastic by 25% by 2025 versus 2019; it would increase its recycled content to 30% PCR by 2025. The reality is that as of


2023, 61% of the company’s packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable, and it used an average of 1.5% recycled content across its packaging


Plastics packaging for pet food has been one target area for Mars


portfolio. Regarding virgin plastic reduction, against a 2019 baseline of 180,000 tonnes, it used 206,850 tonnes in 2023. These figures were included in its recent report on Sustainable in a Genera- tion, a plan it launched in 2017. “We are making good


progress, and we would expect that to continue to accelerate,” the company wrote. “However, the design and infrastructure changes needed are taking longer than we anticipated, and we are unlikely to fully meet


them by the end of 2025.” In mitigation, the com- pany also said it is “investing millions of dollars to improve the recyclability of our packaging, increase the amount of food-safe, recycled content, and to reduce the use of virgin plastic.”


Mars joins a growing list


of brand owners in acknowl- edging ambitious 2025 targets are unlikely to be reached, including Unilever, Colgate-Palmolive and PepsiCo. � www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org � www.mars.com


Capri-Sun rethinks straws


In August, several industry outlets, including Just Drinks, reported that Switzerland-based Capri-Sun Group was looking at alternatives to the paper straws it introduced in 2021 which could see a return to plastic in its home market. As Switzerland is a non-EU member state, businesses operating there do not have to abide by the Single Use Plastic Directive. Just Drinks claimed a


spokesperson for Capri- Sun told them that as part of a planned changeover to the recyclable mono- material PP pouches introduced in March, it was examining the possibility of replacing the paper straw with a plastic straw which would allow both the pouch and the straw to be recycled in the same recycling stream. As it stands, the paper straw would contaminate the plastic recycling stream. � www.just-drinks.com � www.capri-sun.com


First tethered PET caps


Origin says the cap design is simple, clever, and user- friendly


US technology company Origin has engineered and manufactured what it says are the first tethered PET caps ever made, expected to be commercially available in Q4 2024. PET bottle caps are usually made from HDPE or PP. “Our patent-pending tethered cap design is simple, clever, and user-friend- ly,” said John Bissell, Origin Co-Founder and Co-CEO. “We use the threads of the PET cap and bottle to lock the cap into place, angled away from the mouth, not toward it. We are combining the performance and sustainabil- ity advantages of our PET caps – recyclability, shelf-life extension, lightweighting, ability to use recycled PET, and enablement of mono- material packaging – with an excellent user experience.” � www.originmaterials.com


4 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | September 2024 www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


IMAGE: MARS


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