Unilever pledges to cut plastic use in half
Unilever has pledged to halve the amount of new plastic it uses over the next five years by increasing its efforts in producing reusable and recyclable packaging.
The consumer goods giant, which owns brands such as Dove and Ben & Jerry’s, said it will reduce its use of plastic packaging by more than 100,000 tonnes by 2025.
Read more: Sainsbury’s pledges to slash plastic packaging by 50 per cent
It will also replace current non-recycled plastic packaging with recycled materials.
The firm currently uses more than 700,000 tonnes of virgin plastic – which is created using raw materials – each year.
Unilever will invest in waste management infrastructure to help collect and process around 600,000 tonnes of plastic annually.
Unilever chief executive Alan Jope said: “Plastic has its place, but that place is not in the environment. We can only eliminate plastic waste by acting fast and taking radical action at all points in the plastic cycle.
“This demands a fundamental rethink in our approach to our packaging and products. It requires us to introduce new and innovative packaging materials and scale up new business models, like re-use and re-fill formats, at an unprecedented speed and intensity.”
Read more: Canada pledges plastic waste cut
The move comes after several other firms have committed to reducing the amount of plastic they use as customers become increasingly conscious about creating waste and the danger of plastic to the environment.
Last month Sainsbury’s said it would cut its plastic packaging usage in half by 2025, while Tesco has said it will ban brands that use excessive packaging next year.
Main image credit: Getty