According to Nestlé, this is the first time this packaging material has been used for widescale production. The packaging is made using technology which enables paper to be used on high-speed production lines previously designed for plastic or laminate packaging.

Almost 3.5 million Smarties blocks are sold each year according to Nestlé, and so the company claims that this transition to paper packaging “represents an important next step in moving the Smarties confectionery range of products to paper packaging.”

Richard Watson, business executive officer for Nestlé Confectionery in the UK and Ireland said: “At Nestlé, we have committed to making 100% of our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.

“But we know we need to go further – and we are looking at a range of more sustainable packaging solutions for our confectionery products that can have an impact now.

“Moving the Smarties confectionery range to paper is one demonstration of this intent, and we are very pleased to introduce the Smarties sharing block in a fully recyclable paper wrapper.”