Amcor, a prominent developer and producer of sustainable packaging solutions, has entered into an agreement with Mondelēz International. Under this deal, Amcor will supply 1,000 tons of post-consumer recycled plastic for wrapping Mondelēz’s flagship Cadbury chocolate products. This collaboration signifies a significant step towards Cadbury’s goal of minimizing its reliance on virgin plastic materials.
In 2022, Cadbury announced that it had sourced 30% of the plastic required to wrap its 160g to 185g Cadbury Dairy Milk family blocks produced in Australia from recycled sources, on a mass balance basis. With its recent procurement, Cadbury is striving to increase its usage of recycled plastic to 50% across its range of chocolate blocks, bars, and pieces produced in Australia, also on a mass balance basis. This initiative is aimed at effectively halving the company’s reliance on virgin plastic for packaging these products.
The rollout of recycled material is slated to commence in the first quarter of 2024, kicking off with blocks and then expanding to encompass beloved bar lines like Cherry Ripe, Crunchie, and Twirl, as well as wrappers for Roses and Favourites assortments.
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This comes shortly after Mondelēz International, the custodian of Cadbury, unveiled its longer-term vision to recycle plastic waste domestically. Partnering with Amcor, they have announced plans to invest in Licella to fund the construction of one of Australia’s first soft plastic advanced recycling facilities. Managed by Advanced Recycling Victoria (ARV), the new facility in Melbourne is slated for completion in 2025. Initially, it will process around 20,000 tons per annum of end-of-life plastic, with aspirations to scale up to approximately 120,000 tons per annum.
Mike Cash, President of Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific stated that he’s proud to continue to support Mondelēz International as they strive to be the most sustainable snacking company in Australia and New Zealand. “We partnered with Mondelēz when they made the first step to move to recycled content for their Cadbury Dairy Milk family blocks packaging, now we’re helping them elevate this ambition by sourcing ~1,000 tons of recycled plastic to help reduce virgin material across more of the Cadbury chocolate portfolio.”
Adding further, Mike Cash stated, “Being able to source this significant volume of recycled material for Mondelēz gives them the opportunity to differentiate and grow, and demonstrates the collective commitment of Mondelez’s leadership.”
According to Darren O’Brien, President – Mondelēz International Australia, New Zealand and Japan, “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. 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, we are on a path to better packaging.”
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