In a groundbreaking collaboration, PepsiCo's Sunbites brand in the UK and Ireland is trialing a premium-quality snack pack crafted with 50% recycled plastic flexible packaging. This innovative initiative, part of PepsiCo Positive (pep+), underscores the company's commitment to sustainability and circularity in its packaging solutions.

Archana Jagannathan, Chief Sustainability Officer at PepsiCo Europe, expresses excitement about the launch of Sunbites' new packaging and emphasizes the company's eagerness to expand this pilot project to more countries in the near future. This endeavor aligns with PepsiCo's ambitious goal to eliminate virgin fossil-based plastic in all crisp and chip packaging across Europe by 2030.

The project's success hinges on collaborative efforts among key stakeholders along the flexible food packaging supply chain, including GreenDot, Ineos, Irplast, and Amcor.

GreenDot plays a crucial role in facilitating the sourcing and supply of post-consumer plastic packaging waste, which is transformed into Tacoil (pyrolysis oil) by UK recycling specialist Plastic Energy. Laurent Auguste, CEO of GreenDot, emphasizes the company's commitment to recycling more plastic post-consumer waste into quality circular polymers for food plastic packaging, thereby contributing to a closed-loop recycling system.

Ineos Olefins & Polymers Europe leverages the pyrolysis oil as an alternative to conventional fossil feedstock, creating virgin-quality recycled PP resin at its Lavera, France plant. Rob Ingram, CEO at Ineos Olefins & Polymers Europe North, highlights the importance of advanced recycling in producing high-quality, food contact packaging from plastic waste.

Irplast utilizes the Ineos resin to produce plastic packaging films containing 50% PCR materials, meeting food contact performance standards. These films are then transformed by Amcor into printed packaging that meets PepsiCo's stringent standards.

Gerald Rebitzer, Sustainability Director at Amcor, underscores the partnership's focus on integrating renewable and recycled content into PepsiCo's packaging. The certification of the recycled polymer content under the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC Plus) scheme further validates the packaging's eco-credentials.

Overall, this collaborative effort demonstrates the viability of advanced recycling technologies in meeting the growing demand for safe, circular use of recycled materials in food contact products. It aligns with the EU's objective of achieving a 10% recycled content target for contact-sensitive plastic packaging by 2030, paving the way for a more sustainable future in the food packaging industry.