Consumer goods giant Unilever has stepped up its strategy to incorporate more recycled plastic, as well as reducing its use of the material.
The company said that one year on from its pledge to halve its use of virgin plastic by 2025, it has increased its use of post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR) to around 75,000 tonnes. Unilever added that it expects its use of PCR to double in the next 12 months.
Unilever has also said that it plans to save 4,500 tonnes of plastic through the launch of innovations such as recyclable paper-based ice cream tubs.
Unilever chief executive Alan Jope said: “Throwaway culture and throwaway business models continue to dominate our lives and damage our planet. Despite challenging conditions, we must not turn our backs on plastic pollution. It is crucial that we – and the rest of the industry – stay the course, cut the amount of plastic we use, and rapidly transition to a circular economy.”
Richard Slater, Unilever’s chief R&D officer added: “To tackle the root causes of plastic waste we need to think differently about packaging. We need bold innovations that challenge existing designs, materials and business models. Our priority is to fundamentally rethink our approach to packaging, and pave the way for new solutions such as reusable and refillable formats.
“By adopting a ‘test, learn and refine’ mentality, we’ve developed innovative solutions that will help people cut their use of plastic for good. One product doing just that is our ultra-concentrated formula for OMO which is diluted at home and uses 72% less plastic. After a successful launch in Brazil, we’re now rolling this out in other countries across Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, our Cif Ecorefill started out as a pilot in the UK and has since been rolled out across Europe, Canada and Australia.
“It’s still early days. But by making refill and reuse formats more widely available, accessible, and affordable, we hope to use our scale and reach to drive lasting change.”
