Amcor equips Woolworths with recycled plastic bags for bread

Amcor has supplied Woolworths, Australia’s largest supermarket chain, with bags containing 30% recycled plastic for its Own Brand sliced bread. The two companies say Woolworths will save 50,000 kg of virgin plastic annually. 

Woolworths will use Amocor’s low-density PE (LDPE) food grade bags for six of its bread products. The bags’ recycled content integration is achieved through chemical recycling. 

Bryan McKay, head of packaging sustainability at Woolworths, says: “We understand our customers want us to remove and reduce plastic and improve recycling opportunities from the products we sell, so we’re firmly focused on innovative ways to improve packaging.”

Gerald Rebitzer, vice president of sustainability operations and advocacy at Amcor Europe and Asia-Pacific, says: “We’re proud to work in partnership with Woolworths on its Own Brand product range to deliver packaging that supports a circular economy.”

He highlights that the bread bags are recyclable, in addition to featuring recycled content, “a clear example of how we can help keep plastics in use and reduce waste without compromising quality or performance.”

“All packaging can be designed to be circular, and packaging waste can be eliminated. Circularity is one of the areas where we can make the greatest positive impact, and this innovation shows how collaboration across the value chain with partners like Woolworths can turn that ambition into reality.”

In the UK, Amcor recently adopted an Enval chemical recycling module to produce food-grade flexible packaging, such as bread bags.

F&B packaging initiatives 

The new bread bags can be returned to 500 Woolworths stores where soft plastics collection is available in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory under a pilot trial.

McKay says that working with Amcor and incorporating recycled content into bread bags is a “significant” step toward Woolworth’s goal of reducing virgin plastic and fostering a more circular economy.

“At the same time, reducing waste across the value chain is a shared challenge. We will continue to innovate with our Own Brand product range in terms of reducing plastics, increasing recycled content, and improving recyclability, while advocating for harmonization of plastics in packaging regulation to progress sustainable packaging outcomes.”

Woolworths states it has removed “tens of thousands” tons of virgin plastic from the supply chain over the last five years through various initiatives.

These include the development of a range of curbside recyclable paper-based Macro brand pouches, which have replaced plastic pouches and removed 90 metric tons per year of soft plastic from Woolworths’ supply chain.

The supermarket has also implemented recyclable paper-based meat trays that use 75% less plastic and enable curbside recycling and recyclable paper-based fresh grape packaging that removes 20 metric tons of plastic from the supply chain.

Woolworths further points to its recyclable paper-based packaging for cocktail truss tomatoes that removes 30 metric tons of plastic and its in-store bakery recyclable clam shells and lids made from 80% recycled plastic.