5% recycled content across all plastic packaging.
The packaging contains plastic material that has been recovered using advanced recycling technology from Berry’s partnership with SABIC earlier this year.
This announcement follows the recent transition to make Dairylea Lunchables and Dairylea Snackers packaging with 75% recycled PET plastic in the UK.
As the first major cream cheese brand to use recycled plastic in its packaging, the news comes ahead of the company’s plans for Philadelphia tubs across the UK to feature new recycling labelling information from this summer.
“It is vital to find and implement innovative, viable solutions to help stop plastic from getting into the environment, where it doesn’t belong,” said Vince Gruber, executive vice president and president, Europe for Mondelēz International.
“Philadelphia’s anticipated use of recycled material is an important step in limiting this waste while supporting a closed-loop system. As part of our mission to lead the future of snacking by offering the right snack, for the right moment, made the right way our iconic brands are committed to leveraging their scale to reduce our impact on the environment,” he continued.
“Our purpose is to empower people to snack right and a big part of this is making sure our snacks use less energy, water and waste – including integrating more sustainably sourced packaging materials,” said Chris McGrath, vice president and chief of impact, sustainability and wellbeing at Mondelēz.
“Innovations like advanced recycling help us find sustainable sources of previously hard-to-recycle material and support our journey towards zero net waste,” McGrath commented. “We also know that designing our packaging for recyclability alone won’t solve the problem of plastic waste, which is why we support public-private initiatives to increase recovery and recycling rates across the world.”
Mondelēz will collaborate with Berry Global, an international manufacturer of plastic packaging products.
Speaking on behalf of international plastic packaging company Berry Global, Jean-Marc Galvez, president consumer packaging international said: “We are pleased to partner with Mondelēz International in providing packaging made with recycled plastic from advanced recycling technology. By recovering and diverting waste that would have otherwise been sent to landfill or incineration, we are working towards our common goal of promoting a circular economy.“
This news forms part of Mondelēz International’s long-term environmental and wellbeing targets, which include sustainability sourced materials; reducing the company’s environmental footprint; and respecting the rights of all people across its value chain.
Mondelēz International aims to ensure that 100% of its packaging is recyclable and labelled with recycling information by 2025, and is on track to meet that target with 93% of packaging designed to be recyclable today.