Following on from their collaboration with Rubicon to introduce recyclable Halloween bags, Mars has now collaborated with packaging supplier Berry Global in a launch of new club jars.
The collaboration with Rubicon looked to address the plastic waste generated from trick or treating at Halloween, and will give consumers an easy way to tackle wrapper waste by returning the trick-or-treat bags for proper recycling.
The jars, which are made from recycled content, will be used for Mars’ brands M&Ms, Starburst and Skittles. They contain 15% recycled plastic, which will replacing about 300 tonnes of virgin plastic per year, the company estimates.
The easy-grip square jars are produced at Berry’s manufacturing facility using a single-pellet, food-grade resin to ensure clean, consistent packaging material sourced from mechanical recycling. In addition to including recycled materials, the jar is also widely recyclable.
“By leveraging our material science expertise and technical resources, we proactively created a solution for Mars without disruption to product performance. Through partnerships and creative thinking such as this, customers look to Berry for unique solutions to their sustainability challenges,” said Brian Hunt , an EVP and General Manager for Berry Global’s Consumer Packaging North America Division.
Available in three sizes, the new jars “offer the same look and feel as previous jars”, according to Mars, and the two larger sizes are 10 grams lighter per jar, which will save 374 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide every year in their manufacturing. This is equivalent to 42,084 gallons of gasoline.
As part of the company’s efforts to sustainability, it’s also investing hundreds of millions of dollars to reimagining and redesigning its packaging.
“At Mars, we want to contribute to a circular economy where packaging material never becomes waste, but is recycled, reused or composted,” said Justin Comes, Vice President of R&D, Mars Wrigley North America. “We have set an aggressive, science-based strategy to innovate our packaging and this change to 15% PCR for these large-format jars is a significant step towards a more sustainable future.”
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