Australia’s first soft plastic food wrapper made with recycled content

Amcor has partnered with a number of companies to produce Australia’s first soft plastic food wrapper made with recycled content. 

Together with Nestlé, CurbCycle, iQ Renew, Licella, Viva Energy Australia, LyondellBasell, REDcycle and Taghleef Industries, Amcor has developed a KitKat prototype aimed at reducing plastic waste in the environment and closing the loop on recycling soft plastics.  

Each company bought a wealth of experience to the project, from knowledge on collecting and processing soft plastic waste, to turning it back into oil using advance recycling technology, and creating the prototype KitKat wrapper. 

“This is an exciting time for Amcor and our participation in this project is fully aligned with our commitment to ensure all our packaging is designed to be recyclable or reusable by 2025,” said Simon Roy, VP and general manager Amcor Flexibles Australia and New Zealand.

“As the global leader for consumer packaging we were proud to contribute our expertise in designing a structure which meets consumer needs and has a responsible end of life where it can be reprocessed and reused in food-grade packaging.” 

Roy continued: “Soft plastics create a strong consumer-friendly packaging solution with great barrier properties and are lightweight and cost-efficient. This collaboration shows how soft plastics can be part of the circular economy when stakeholders across the entire value chain work together and is a fantastic outcome for the environment and our communities.”

Sandra Martinez, CEO of Nestlé Australia, added: “Between us, we have shown there’s a pathway to solve the soft plastics problem. Manufacturers like Nestlé will have a key role in driving demand for food-grade recycled soft plastic packaging and creating market conditions that will ensure all stakeholders throughout the value chain view soft plastics as a resource and not waste”.