PepsiCo and GreenDot join forces on plastic snack pack recycling 

30 May 2024 --- PepsiCo and GreenDot have announced an agreement to support investment in recycling for plastic waste that can be looped back into PepsiCo’s snack packaging.

GreenDot has been expanding its German sorting and recycling activities and developed additional assets in Austria and Italy. The group now also incorporates advanced recycling in its portfolio to be able to supply circular polymers to brands and converters. 

PepsiCo Europe aims to eliminate virgin fossil-based plastic in all its crisp and chip bags by 2030.

“This agreement is an important milestone for the industry. It further paves the way toward a circular economy of plastic packaging, with the support of a new type of long-term collaboration between key players of the value chain,” says Laurent Auguste, CEO of GreenDot.

“GreenDot will invest in developing plastic packaging to packaging recycling capacities, including advanced recycling of polyolefins, providing needed solutions at scale for the food industry.” 

Snack pack recycling 
PepsiCo and GreenDot are collaborating on new snack packaging for Sunbites crisps, which contains 50% recycled plastic film. This packaging was launched in the UK and Ireland in late 2023, and the company expects to expand it further.

GreenDot is establishing a network of sorting and (mechanical and chemical) recycling plants in Europe. In addition to its historical activities in Germany and Austria, GreenDot and its partners are building a state-of-the-art sorting plant for used plastic packaging. In Italy, GreenDot has laid the foundations for high-quality recycling with the acquisition of Synextra, a specialist in the sorting and processing of plastic waste.

Archana Jagannathan, Chief Sustainability Officer at PepsiCo Europe, remarks: “The partnership is critical to scaling our operations and working together toward our shared goal of creating a circular economy for packaging.” 

“Advanced and mechanical recycling is part of a broader suite of recycling we are leveraging to bring us one step closer to this goal. Closing the loop between plastic and recycled content is a central part of our PepsiCo Positive agenda. We aim to reduce the waste we send to landfill in our direct operations and across our value chain.”

Edited by Louis Gore-Langton