Nestlé axes plastic wrappers for Quality Street chocolates after 86 years

03 Oct 2022 --- Nestlé is updating the wrappers on two of its staple confectionery products, Quality Street and KitKat, to facilitate recycling and achieve its environmental goals.

Quality Street, launched in 1936, has long been known for its foil and cellulose multi-colored twist wrappers. Nine of the 11 sweets will now have paper wrapping as an eco-friendly solution. 

KitKat will change its wrappers, but only in the UK. The wrappers will be made with 80% recycled plastic that can be recycled at supermarkets across the UK and through household recycling in Ireland beginning this month. 

“We work toward reducing our use of virgin plastic by one-third and making all our packaging recyclable or reusable within the next three years,” says Richard Watson, business executive officer at Nestlé Confectionery.

Sweet, sweet recycling
Nestlé developed the packaging changes at its research center in York, England. It created a special vegetable-based coating for the Quality Street recyclable paper.

 Quality Street and KitKat update their packaging for recyclable solutions. 

The previously used, and common, cellulose material is not easily recyclable. Nestlé claims the new wrapper is accepted in household recycling. The company has stated that the transition is underway but will take several months to complete. 

KitKat is set to use the highest proportion of recycled food-grade plastic of any major UK and Ireland confectionery brand. KitKat will begin the recycled wrapping with its smaller items before extending across the entire range by 2024.

“The changes we are announcing today have been informed by detailed life cycle assessments that have enabled us to identify solutions with a lower environmental impact than our current packaging,”

The KitKat packaging will feature the Recycle At Store On-Pack Recycling Label – a UK labeling scheme to help consumers correctly reuse and recycle more material. The wrappers will also provide information about the Recycling Locator Tool that guides consumers to their nearest recycling point, a platform launched by the national WRAP recycling campaign Recycle Now.

The only two remaining Quality Street wrappers are for the Orange Crunch and the Green Triangle since they traditionally use foil wrappers, not cellulose. Quality Street is the second Nestlé brand to transition to recyclable paper packaging after Smarties.

Nestlés eco-friendly plans
Changing the Quality Street wrappers will remove more than two billion pieces of packaging material from the brand’s supply chain. Nestlé claims commitment to environmental suitability through products and initiatives. 

“Plastic waste is a key concern for most citizens, and for many, this is centered on whether it is easy to recycle. Recyclability is complex since it requires the culmination of good design, collection, recycling infrastructure, and importantly, market demand for recycled material into new products and packaging,” says Helen Bird, head of business collaboration, WRAP. 

Nestlé has committed to ensuring the company moves toward a more circular economy and reduces its plastic waste. 

The F&B giant has created an Institute of Packaging Sciences to develop sustainable packaging materials, invested up to £1.6 billion (US$1.8 billion) to shift from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics and £1.65 million (US$1.84 million) in a flexible plastic recycling plant in Fife, Scotland. 

The company has signed the UK and the European Plastics Pacts requiring Nestlé to achieve 100% recyclable or reusable packaging and use at least 30% recycled content in any plastic by 2025.   

They are also a founding member of the Flexible Plastic Fund in 2021, helping incentivize recyclers to increase the number of flexible plastics they recycle. However, that organization has received backlash from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).  

Earlier this year, according to the EIA, they failed to pay out a single penny of the £1 million (approximately US$1.4 million) invested by consumer goods retailers over a year ago. 

The business also sources 100% certified sustainable cocoa for all its chocolate and biscuits since 2015 and is aiming to halve its carbon footprint of local fresh milk supply by 2026.

Edited by Sabine Waldeck