Nestlé UK is switching its Smarties chocolate bar to a recyclable paper wrapper, moving away from the film wrappers of the past as the company continues its drive towards more eco-friendly packaging.
It is the first time the high-speed print technology has been used at such scale – some 3.5 million Smarties blocks are sold every year.
The packs themselves are made from paper with a dispersion coating, which acts as a barrier to moisture and oxygen and preserves freshness.
“Paper is not like plastic – you cannot treat it exactly like you would on a normal wrapping set-up, you have to adapt the whole process from start to finish to make sure you can handle the product gently,” Nestlé UK packaging lead Bruce Funnell said.
Nestlé has pledged to transition all its packaging to recyclable or reusable materials and reduce its use of virgin plastic by one third by 2025.
Nestlé is one of the world’s primary plastic packaging users. To hear more about Nestlé Australia's sustainable packaging targets and projects, listen to our podcast in which we interview Nestlé Australia head of packaging, Jacky Nordsvan.
