Unilever to trial recyclable paper Pot Noodle pot

Unilever said it it switches the Pot Noodle packaging from plastic to paper, this would remove “4,000 tonnes of virgin plastic” each year from the market.

The new packaging, according to the company, can be recycled at home with other cardboard and paper packaging and includes OPRL’s recycling labels to provide “clear guidance to shoppers on how to dispose of their Pot Noodle packaging”.

A single layer of “ultra-thin plastic film” is used to provide barrier protection, which ensures ingredients remain fresh and protects the paper when water is added but “doesn’t inhibit the recyclability of the pot”.

Currently, Pot Noodle is made out of plastic, with a foil lid, both of which the company says on its website “is widely recyclable”.

Investment

As Andre Burger, general manager foods  at Unilever UK & Ireland, said: “Pot Noodle has been a loved British brand for over 40 years, and whilst our great taste will never change, we’re always challenging ourselves to make our products and packaging better.

“From material development and testing through to new manufacturing processes and capabilities, big packaging innovations require the investment of time and expertise across many teams and partners. There have been plenty of challenges along the way, but we are committed to reducing the plastic in our packaging and to a paper-based future for our pots, without compromising on the Pot Noodle experience our shoppers know and love. We are now excited to learn from this initial trial with the ambition of bringing our paper pots to more shoppers across the UK soon.”

Feedback

Shopper feedback and insights from the trial will be used to “support the subsequent scale-up of the innovation at the Pot Noodle factory”, where Unilever has introduced new capabilities to switch from plastic to paper-based production for the trial.

The move forms part of Unilever’s plans to halve their use of virgin plastic, alongside increasing use of recycled plastic, moving to ultra-concentrated formulas which use smaller bottles, and looking at other packaging innovations such as refillable bottles.

Courtney Pallett, packaging campaigns manager at Tesco said: “Removing or reducing plastic wherever we can remains a key focus for us, so we’re excited to work with Unilever to exclusively trial Pot Noodle’s new sustainably sourced, FSC certified paper packaging and to continue to work together to help protect our planet.”

Recyclers

Moving from a recyclable plastic pot to a paper one however is likely to irk some parts of the plastic recycling industry.

Last year, Morrisons was criticised for switching its milk bottles from plastic to paper, which the industry said was not an environmental friendly move (see letsrecycle.com story).

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