Heinz is rolling out a 100% recyclable cap for its ketchup squeezy bottles, meaning the whole bottle – including the cap – can now easily be recycled in regular kerbside collections, starting from next month.
The move means a potential 300 million plastic caps annually can be recycled, instead of finding their way into landfill.
Kraft Heinz Northern Europe president Jojo de Noronha said the food manufacturer is “delighted to see our innovative, more sustainable caps on ketchup bottles across the UK”.
“Although a small change, this makes it easy for the millions of Heinz lovers across the country to recycle their whole squeezy bottle at once – a small action with big potential for impact.”
The introduction of the new cap is part of The Kraft Heinz Company’s larger ambition to make all its packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025, and to reduce its global use of virgin plastic by 20% by 2030.
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WRAP senior specialist Adam Herriott explained that while prevention or elimination of packaging in the first instance would be the ideal scenario, “packaging plays an important, practical and convenient role”.
“Therefore, the next step is to look at ensuring as much of it is recyclable, reusable or compostable as possible,” he added.
The old-style Heinz cap used a flexible valve made from silicone, which was a challenge to recycle. The new recyclable cap is made of a single, rigid material and designed to be easily recycled. In addition to being fully recyclable, studies by Heinz revealed that another benefit of the new caps is that they make it easier to squeeze out sauce when the bottle is nearly empty.
Other food companies changing up packaging for a greener alternative include Pot Noodle, which recently launched a trial shifting its plastic to paper pot made with FSC-certified paper in a move to reduce plastic usage.
If the trial is successful – based on shopper feedback- the ambition is to move the full Pot Noodle range to paper pots, a move which once complete could remove 4,000 tonnes of virgin plastic each year.
