Mars Australia launches paper-based wrappers: “A nail in the coffin” for flexible plastics

30 Nov 2022 --- Mars Wrigley Australia has unveiled new paper-based wrappers for its Mars Bars, Snickers and Milky Way products to be launched in April 2023. 

The wrappers are made easy-to-recycle and compatible with traditional curbside recycling. Once fully transitioned, Mars’ paper-based packaging is set to eliminate more than 360 metric tons of plastic packaging from its value chain. 

“Mars’ ongoing investment in local R&D has allowed us to be agile and create solutions that have a positive impact on our environment, meet our stringent quality and food safety standards but are also convenient for our consumers to recycle via curbside recycling,” says Andrew Leakey, general manager of Mars Wrigley Australia.

“When the target is recyclability, paper is 70-90% recycled – flexible plastics don’t stand a chance. Mars switching to paper is still another nail in the coffin for flexibles. Governments want to get income from recyclers, not provide them with grants to make a non-viable business solvent,” Paul Foulkes-Arellano, founder of Circuthon tells PackagingInsights. 

Mars Australia switches its flexible plastic wrapper to a paper-based solution. From plastic to paper
The wrappers are also set to be implemented in New Zealand, manufactured in Aotearoa, starting June 2023.

More than seven million Mars plastic wrappers end up in landfills across Aotearoa annually. Mars says the changes will reduce plastic waste in New Zealand’s landfills by 11 metric tons.

The company states the wrappers are an extension of its aim of creating a circular economy and achieving its 2025 national packaging targets. They are furthermore a part of Mars’ commitment to the New Zealand Plastic Packaging Declaration and ANZPAC Plastics Pact.

Mars completed the wrappers as a result of extensive R&D trials and locally driven innovation from Mars Wrigley’s manufacturing site in Ballarat, Australia.

“A result of extensive R&D trials and locally-driven innovation from Mars Wrigley’s manufacturing site in Ballarat, the new paper-based wrapper is widely recyclable through co-mingled recycling bins and paper/cardboard recycling bins across New Zealand, enabling Kiwis to recycle the packaging via their curbside recycling bin easily,” states the company. 

The candy will be available in 47g and 64g for Mars Bars, 44g and 64g for Snickers and 45g for MilkyWay, at all leading supermarkets and convenience stores nationally. 

Paper-based push impacts REDcycleThe founder of Circuthon believes flexible plastics are on their way out in the packaging industry. 
As companies push for paper-based packaging solutions over flexible plastics, schemes like Australia’s REDcycle’s supermarket plastic collection could no longer be necessary. 

However,  Foulkes-Arellano continued that he believes “REDcycle was doomed to failure just like Reflex and Ceflex, so in a sense, Mars makes no impact.”

REDcycle recently announced a pause on its soft plastic collection scheme with supermarkets following accusations of plastic stockpiling. Soft plastic is known to be a difficult-to-recycle material, having low recycled rates, which was the reason for REDcycle’s founding. 

According to Clean Up Australia, Australians use around 70 billion pieces of soft plastics each year, with only 22% of the public knowing they can recycle their soft plastics. 

The recycling rate for soft plastic is about 4%, with the rest ending up in landfills, according to the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation. REDcycle figures cited that its systems collected up to five million soft plastic items daily. 

“Industry doesn’t have time to wait. Signatories of the Plastics Pact need to be using recyclables or compostables by 2025, which is now just two years away. There is literally no guarantee that flexible plastics will be compliant by 2025,” concludes Foulkes-Arellano. 

By Sabine Waldeck 

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