Hellmann’s, one of the UK’s most popular condiment brands, is switching its ‘squeezy’ range to bottles made from 100% recycled plastic.
The Unilever brand has already switched 40% of the range – including its Light, Lighter than Light, Vegan and flavoured mayonnaise bottles – to post-consumer recycled PET (rPET), with plans for the full Hellmann’s range to follow by the end of 2022.
Unilever said the move will save approximately 14 million virgin plastic bottles – around 1,480 tonnes of virgin plastic – from being used every year, once the full range is moved.
The switch is part of the company’s commitment to halve the amount of virgin plastic it uses and make all of its packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
The new bottles have been made using food-grade standard recycled plastic – which has a slightly darker tint than virgin plastic – and they feature a ‘New 100% Recycled Bottle’ logo on the front.
“At Hellmann’s we believe food is too good to be wasted, and now we’re helping to reduce plastic waste too,” said Andre Burger, vice president of foods and refreshment at Unilever UK & Ireland.
“With our new 100% recycled plastic bottles, which are also fully recyclable, we’re providing shoppers with an accessible and simple way to help make their households and mealtimes more sustainable – whilst continuing to enjoy the products they love.
“Our Hellmann’s bottles are our first food brand in the UK to use 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, and whilst making the switch has not been without its challenges, these learnings will enable us to accelerate the move of other Unilever food brands to using more recycled plastic too.”
By 2025, Unilever pledges to:
- Halve the amount of virgin plastic used in their packaging and achieve an absolute reduction of more than 100,000 tonnes in plastic use
- Help collect and process more plastic packaging than they sell
- Ensure that 100% of their plastic packaging is designed to be fully reusable, recyclable or compostable
- Increase the use of post-consumer recycled plastic material in their packaging to at least 25%
Image courtesy of Hellmann’s / Unilever.
