As part of its packaging transformation journey in Europe, Mondelēz International announced two key milestones:
– Europe achieving its company’s global goal of 5% recycled content (compared to 2020).
– Completing transition from rigid plastic trays to trays containing ~80% recycled plastic1 across several European flagship brands. This shift enables an annual reduction of ~1,000 tons of virgin plastic2 across Europe.
“We are proud of these milestones, as we continue accelerating our sustainable packaging journey across Europe” said Catherine Burgeat, Sustainability Senior Director of Europe at Mondelēz International. “Replacing PET plastic trays with rPET is a major step towards reducing our virgin plastic usage and contributing to a more circular packaging economy.”
These achievements reflect Mondelēz International’s drive to scale recyclable materials and pilot innovative circularity solutions across major European markets — including the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland — demonstrating the company’s ability to deploy packaging improvements at scale.
To continue reducing the use of virgin plastic, Mondelēz International is strategically investing in diverse recycling technologies and circularity initiatives across Europe to achieve its ambitious packaging sustainability goals.
Advancing Innovation Through Complementary Recycling Technologies
Mondelēz International is advancing innovation through complementary recycling technologies throughout Europe:
- Mechanical recycling: This process involves collecting, cleaning, and reprocessing used plastics into new packaging materials. It enabled the company to incorporate ~1,000 tons of rPET into trays in 2025, for selected boxed chocolates (Milka, Marabou, Mirabelle and Suchard pralines) and biscuits products (Milka Choco Wafer, Chips Ahoy and Oreo). Milka Pralines are already leading the way, now using trays made with ~80% rPET and eliminating color to further enhance recyclability — a change soon to be rolled out across other brands. This covers many European markets such as the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
- Chemical recycling3: This process breaks plastic down to molecular building blocks, enabling its reuse in food-contact packaging. Mondelēz International has been among the early adopters of this technology in Europe, with Cadbury Dairy Milk in the UK introducing ~30% chemically recycled content in 2022, followed by Kvikk Lunsj in the Nordics in 2024. Also, a broader adoption of ~80% recycled plastic for Cadbury tablet packaging has been rolled out in 2025.
Piloting Circularity Across Europe
In addition to reducing virgin plastic, Mondelēz International continues to invest in helping to advance in plastic packaging circularity pilot in Germany, Belgium, the Nordics and the UK. With a pilot initiative in Germany on Philadelphia tubs, the company helps advancing the collection and recycling of this packaging through our partnership with HolyGrail 2030, an industry initiative led by AIM (European Brands Association). By using digital watermarks, we aim to improve sorting accuracy and eventually unlock additional future sources of food-grade recycled plastic.
“Innovation in both mechanical and chemical recycling technologies is essential to increasing the availability of food-contact recycled plastic” said Richard Akkermans, Packaging Sustainability Manager Europe. “By working closely with suppliers and value-chain partners, we are turning sustainability ambition into practical action.”
