Nestlé rolls out confectionery sharing bags with less plastic

Nestlé said its confectionery sharing bags in the UK and Ireland will be using on average 15 per cent less packaging following a redesign.

The company added that the move will remove at least 83 tonnes of virgin plastic from its supply chain every year.

Rolling out this month, some of the nation’s favourite treats including Milkybar, Aero Bubbles, Munchies, Rolo, Yorkie, and Rowntree’s Randoms will have new narrower pouches.

“Nestlé is working hard to reduce its use of virgin plastic by one third by 2025. Removing 15 per cent of the packaging from our sharing bags is an important step towards this goal. The move will not only save on the amount of virgin plastic we use each year, it will have significant benefits throughout our supply chain in the UK and Ireland,” Cheryl Allen, head of sustainability for Nestlé Confectionery said.

“For example, we can now pack more sharing bags at a time, which means fewer lorries are needed to transport them. In total, we will be able to take the equivalent of 331 lorries off UK roads every year, saving 71472 road miles and 130 tonnes of CO2 emissions.”

Nestlé said it is also making it easier to recycle plastic wrappers which are not currently collected at kerbside.

Its partnership with TerraCycle gives consumers the ability to recycle confectionery wrappers now, while changes in technology and infrastructure are being worked on. Flexible plastic packaging can be dropped off at around 300 TerraCycle recycling points across the UK and Ireland.

Nestlé sells approximately 140 million confectionery sharing bags in the UK and Ireland every year.