Unilever aims for 100pc recyclable plastic

Unilever is aiming to achieve 100 per cent recyclability for its plastic packaging by 2025.

The multinational consumer goods company has also committed to renewing its membership of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation for another three years and support its New Plastics Economy scheme. In turn, it will release the full palette of plastic materials used in its packaging by 2020.

“Our plastic packaging plays a critical role in making our products appealing, safe and enjoyable for our consumers,” said chief executive Paul Polman. “Yet it is clear that if we want to continue to reap the benefits of this versatile material, we need to do much more as an industry to help ensure it is managed responsibly and efficiently post consumer-use.

The business has also said it will invest in “proving, and then sharing with the industry, a technical solution to recycle multi-layered sachets, particularly for coastal areas which are most at risk of plastics leaking into the ocean.”

“To address the challenge of ocean plastic waste we need to work on systemic solutions – ones which stop plastics entering our waterways in the first place,” added Polman.