Page 72 - AMEFT Journal 2021-2

TECHNOLOGY & SUSTAINABILITY
Recycled plastic wrapper for KitKat
In an Australian first, a group of com- panies have collaborated to produce Australia’s first soft plastic food wrap- per made with recycled content.Food grade recycled soft plastic packaging is a key missing link in Australia’s bid to improve waste management and build a circular economy, with a lack of both collection and processing in- frastructure making it difficult to keep waste out of landfill and impossible to meet demands for packaging with re- cycled content.
The prototype KitKat wrapper, which represents Australia’s opportu- nity to close the loop on recycling soft plastics, has been created by a coaliti- on of companies with a shared vision. Between them, Nestlé, CurbCycle, iQ Renew, Licella, Viva Energy Australia, LyondellBasell, REDcycle, Taghleef In- dustries and Amcor brought their in- dividual expertise together to collect and process waste soft plastic, turn it back into oil, and create the prototype wrapper.
Turning soft plastic back into oil is the only path plastic waste can
72 AMEFT 2 2021
The initiative emerged from a trial underway on the NSW Central Coast, where Australian Recycler iQ Renew and Nestlé are working together on a trial of kerbside collection of soft plastics. These collected plastics, together with plastics collected via the REDcycle supermarket soft plastic collection, formed the starting point for the project.
take if it is to be transformed into a food safe wrapper: innovative Austra- lian technology that is ready for com- mercial roll-out in Australia.
The initiative emerged from a trial underway on the NSW Central Coast, where Australian Recycler iQ Renew and Nestlé are working together on a trial of kerbside collection of soft plastics. These collected plastics, to- gether with plastics collected via the REDcycle supermarket soft plastic collection, formed the starting point for the project.
Sandra Martinez, CEO of Nestlé Aus- tralia, said the project had been dri- ven by a shared determination to re- solve the soft plastics challenge – and an enormous amount of good will. “Between us, we have shown that there’s a pathway to solve the soft plastics problem. To build this at scale, across all states and territories, across hundreds of councils, is going to take a huge effort from government at all levels, from industry and from consu- mers, but I think it can be done. Ma- nufacturers like Nestlé will have a key
The KitKat wrapper is made with 30% recycled polypropylene using the mass balance approach.
(Source: Nestlé)
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