BATTLE CREEK, Mich.,
Oct. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/
-- According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 311 million
tonnes of plastic are produced each year, the equivalent of more
than 900 Empire State Buildings1. Annually, 8 million
tonnes of this plastic enter our oceans. Packaging is a
considerable contributor to this issue, however it also plays an
important role in food quality, safety and reducing food waste.
Nigel Hughes, Senior Vice
President of Global Research & Development at Kellogg Company,
is responsible for leading a team that drives cutting edge
innovation. That includes looking at how packaging can protect
Kellogg's foods, deliver the quality that people expect, while also
supporting a more sustainable future. Here, he provides an update
on how Kellogg is progressing towards its global packaging
goal.
At Kellogg, we're wasting no time in working toward our goal of
using 100 percent reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by
the end of 2025. Our goal aligns to the Ellen MacArthur
Foundation's (EMF) New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, which we
were among just a handful of food companies to sign on to in 2018.
Doing so is part of our global Kellogg's Better Days®
commitment to create better days for 3 billion people around the
world by addressing the interrelated issues of food security,
climate resiliency and well-being.
Speeding up our efforts
Already, more than 97 percent
of our timber-based packaging that goes into cereal and other boxes
comes from either recycled or certified-sustainable content. And
we're speeding up our efforts. For example, although plastic
packaging is just one part of our overall packaging mix, we've
already ensured that 32 percent of what we use globally is
recyclable. And we have many projects in the works to ensure that
we achieve our 2025 sustainable packaging goal.
Around the world, our approach to reducing waste with more
sustainable packaging includes three tenets:
- EXCLUDE certain items and materials,
- REDUCE packaging across our portfolio, and
- REDESIGN our packaging to be recyclable or compostable.
Exclude
In 2018, we transitioned to compostable paper
foodservice products in all our plants and offices … no more
plastic and no more single-use foam. In our U.S. operations in
Illinois and Michigan alone, we diverted 2 million pieces
of silverware, 105,000 straws and 110,000 bottles from landfill
every year. We're also removing the plastic spoons from our
joyböl™ granola smoothies. Once this is complete, no Kellogg
food packaging will use plastic forks, knives, straws, stirrers,
polystyrene or oxo-degradable plastic.
Reduce
Over the years, we've significantly reduced the
amount of material in our cereal boxes and other packages. We've
reduced flap sizes, eliminated excess air and introduced other
innovations to make our packaging better for the environment.
Currently, we have some instances where we bulk ship cereal in
reusable bins from the production facility to the final destination
where it is packed into pouches or bag-in-box packages. This
happens with our granolas and cereals in multiple regions. In
Africa, India, China
and Australia, we've significantly
reduced packaging using this approach.
Redesign
In Europe,
we redesigned our cereal pouches to use recycle-ready material,
eliminating approximately 480 tonnes of non-recyclable packaging
each year.
In the United States, Bear
Naked® recently launched new, store drop-off, recycle-ready
packaging for their granolas and granola bites. The new packaging
includes a "Store Drop-Off" logo and website link to help people
find a nearby recycle drop-off location. All Bear Naked
granolas and Bites varieties will adopt this packaging going
forward. We've had similar success in the U.S. reducing packaging
in our MorningStar Farms® veggie foods by moving to
resealable bags. As an added benefit, the bags help fight freezer
burn, which reduces food waste.
Most importantly, we're looking at breakthrough packaging
innovation by considering sustainability right from the start.
We're excited about the opportunities to deliver for people, our
customers and the planet.
Encouraging more recycling through partnerships and new
technologies
As we continue to exclude, reduce and
redesign, we're also encouraging more recycling and partnering on
new technologies. For example:
- In Australia, we include the
Redcycle logo on our cereal bags. At the Redcycle website, people
can easily find the location of their nearest drop-off location. A
similar effort is underway in the U.S., where we include the
How2Recycle label on most of our packages.
- In the U.K., Pringles® launched a partnership with
TerraCycle to collect and recycle its cans. And in Malaysia, our local waste collector converts
rejected Pringles® cans into corrugated paper.
- In Mexico, we are piloting a
project to replace PET packaging with material that can more easily
be crushed into pellets and recycled.
- Kellogg India is piloting an
innovative project with waste management company Nepra
Environmental Solutions in Pune,
Maharashtra. Together, we're developing a system to collect and
dispose of multilayer plastic (MLP) waste. Nepra purchases MLP from
the local waste-sorting workers and turns it into fuel for cement
kilns.
More than 110 years ago, the very first box of Kellogg's
cereal was created with recycled content. So using sustainable
packaging is part of our DNA. Today, the people of Kellogg are
proud to be taking this commitment to the next level. While we
don't have all the solutions, we're hard at work researching,
collaborating with partners, and piloting new approaches to keeping
our foods safe and fresh while also protecting the planet. You can
learn more about our efforts in our newly published 2019 Global
Sustainable Packaging Milestones.
About Kellogg Company
At Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), we
strive to enrich and delight the world through foods and brands
that matter. Our beloved brands include Pringles®, Cheez-It®,
Special K®, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes®, Pop-Tarts®, Kellogg's Corn
Flakes®, Rice Krispies®, Eggo®, Mini-Wheats®, Kashi®,
RXBAR®, MorningStar Farms® and more. Net sales in
2018 were approximately $13.5
billion, comprised principally of snacks and convenience
foods like cereal and frozen foods. Kellogg brands are beloved in
markets around the world. We are also a company with Heart &
Soul, committed to creating Better Days for 3 billion people
by the end of 2030 through our Kellogg's® Better
Days global purpose platform. Visit
www.KelloggCompany.com or www.OpenforBreakfast.com.
1http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_New_Plastics_Economy.pdf
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