Chocolate manufacturer Cadbury has signed a deal with packaging company Amcor, to source 1000 tonnes of post-consumer recycled plastic to wrap its core Cadbury chocolate range, accelerating the company’s ambitions to reduce its virgin plastic needs.
In 2022, Cadbury announced it had sourced 30 per cent (on a mass balance basis) of the plastic needed to wrap its 160g to 185g Cadbury Dairy Milk family blocks produced in Australia from recycled materials. With its latest purchase, Cadbury aims to use 50 per cent (on a mass balance basis) recycled plastic for its wrappers across its chocolate blocks, bars and pieces range produced in Australia. This will be equivalent to halving its virgin plastic needs to wrap those products.
The roll out of recycled material is expected to begin in Q1 of 2024, starting with blocks and expanding into bar lines such as Cherry Ripe, Crunchie and Twirl as well as pieces wrappers for Roses and Favourites.
This announcement comes shortly after Cadbury’s custodian, Mondelēz International, shared its longer-term vision to recycle plastic waste on home soil, partnering with Amcor to invest in Licella to fund the construction of one of the first soft plastic advanced recycling facilities in Australia. The new facility in Melbourne, managed by Advanced Recycling Victoria (ARV), is scheduled for completion in 2025 and will initially process around 20,000 tonnes per annum of end-of-life plastic, with plans to scale up to 120,000 tonnes per annum.
“Reducing virgin plastic use and supporting a circular packaging economy is a focus for our business and this latest deal to purchase recycled plastic is another important step in our journey,” said Darren O’Brien, President – Mondelēz International Australia, New Zealand and Japan. “By creating confidence in the market for recycled material, we’re helping to build a future for plastic recycling in this country.
“Chocolate lovers love Cadbury Dairy Milk for its generous ‘glass and a half’ slogan, but when it comes to virgin plastic in our packaging, less is more. By halving our virgin plastic needs in our Cadbury chocolate blocks, bars and pieces portfolio produced in Australia, we are on a path to better packaging.”