CHICAGO — Mondelez International, Inc. announced its Philadelphia cream cheese packaging will be made with recycled materials starting from 2022.
The new initiative is part of the company’s larger sustainability push, which includes using 5% recycled content across all plastic packaging and using 100% recyclable packaging by 2025. Around 94% of Mondelez’s packaging currently is recyclable, the company said.
Mondelez will work with longtime partner Berry Global Group, Inc. to scale a new technology that turns discarded plastic into food-grade packaging to be sold across Europe.
“Our purpose is to empower people to snack right and a big part of this is making sure our snacks use less energy, water and waste — including integrating more sustainably sourced packaging materials,” said Chris McGrath, vice president and chief of impact, sustainability and well-being at Mondelez International. “Innovations like advanced recycling help us find sustainable sources of previously hard-to-recycle material and support our journey toward zero net waste. We also know that designing our packaging for recyclability alone won’t solve the problem of plastic waste, which is why we support public-private initiatives to increase recovery and recycling rates across the world.”
The effort aims to keep materials in circulation, drive demand for recycled material and reduce the need to produce new virgin material, Mondelez said.
“By recovering and diverting waste that would have otherwise been sent to landfill or incineration, we are working toward our common goal of promoting a circular economy,” said Jean-Marc Galvez, president of consumer packaging international at Berry Global.
The announcement also adds to Berry’s growing list of sustainability initiatives, including investments in mechanical and chemical recycling and a commitment to using recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging across 100% of its fast-moving consumer goods packaging by 2025.
