Walkers injects £14M into plastic reduction for multipack chip products

18 Oct 2022 --- UK snack company, Walkers, has invested £14 (US$15.8) million into removing 250 metric tons of virgin plastic annually from the company’s supply chain. A cardboard design will replace the outer plastic packaging on millions of Walkers 22-24 bag multipacks, which reduces the current amount of virgin plastic used.

The cardboard packaging is being implemented in major UK supermarkets in the coming weeks after a successful trial with Tesco. Accompanying the new bags, Walker has also invested in a stretch film to wrap around its pallets before being distributed to retailers.

These investments are part of PepsiCo Positive, Walkers’ parent company’s green initiative into more environmentally sustainable solutions for its packaging. 

Pallet nanotechnology 
The pallet film is produced by nanotechnology, injecting tiny air bubbles into the film to reduce the amount of plastic used. Walkers claims these air bubbles will lead to a 40% reduction in virgin plastic year on year compared to the previous film. Film wrap nanotechnology reduces virgin plastic use outside of sole product packaging. 

“Reducing virgin plastic caross our supply chain is a key part of our commitment to creating a world where packaging never becomes waste,” says Simon Devaney, sustainable packaging director at PepsiCo UK & Ireland. 

Condensing the amount of fossil-fuel-based virgin plastic in the shrink wrap will also reduce Walkers’ annual carbon emissions by 465 metric tons, according to the company. 

“This investment marks an important step forward, delivering a reduction in virgin plastic across some of our best-selling ranges while also helping to tackle our carbon footprint,” continues Devaney. 

Walkers have been making climate-friendly solutions based on its goal of eliminating virgin fossil-based plastic from its crisp and snack bags across Europe by 2030. Previously, the company has stated its commitment to reducing water use by 50% and energy use by around 30%. 

In the UK, Walkers also is focused on creating packaging made from recycled plastic for its snack bags in the future. 

PepsiCo Positive
PepsiCo Positive focuses on creating environmentally sustainable ingredient sourcing and building a circular value chain while reaching net zero emissions by 2040.

Earlier this month, PepsiCo held its first Greenhouse Accelerator Program, donating a US$100,000 grant to Nadeera, focusing on creating more ecological packaging solutions. Walkers is to transition to cardboard chip bags after a successful Tesco trial.  

In August, PepsiCo launched display stands for its Lay’s chips brand throughout Europe made from UBQ Material. a patented bio-based thermoplastic. Around the same time, the company began implementing more pallets made with UBQ, recycled PP resin, and recycled BOPP – the plastic film used in the snack packaging – to complete the circular economy cycle.

Walkers’ carbon footprint
However, according to a report by The Guardian, 44% of the 75-gram carbon footprint of Walker chips comes from its ingredients. Soil Association and Sustain highlights Walkers’ use of conventional fertilizer on potatoes produces nitrous oxide, a gas 300 times worse for climate change than CO2. 

PackagingInsights previously reported that Walkers ended its UK recycling scheme with TerraCycle. The waste management company launched the scheme in 2018 and collected millions of waste chip packets. However, industry experts criticized the project for putting the brunt work on consumers to separate trash with no evidence of recycling success ever being made public. 

By Sabine Waldeck