Nestle goes the Eggstra mile

19 March 2012 – Nestlé UK & Ireland is the first major confectioner to make its entire Easter egg packaging 100% recyclable.

With Easter eggs creating 3,000 tonnes of UK waste each year, Nestlé has replaced all rigid plastic packaging from all its eggs – the culmination of a six year process that has saved 726 tonnes of plastic waste going to landfill per year.

The last products to become 100% recyclable were the Yorkie, Munchies and Kit Kat Easter eggs which include a branded mug. The 48 tonnes of plastic used to secure the mug and egg has been replaced with recyclable cardboard certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and a compostable film for the windows resulting in a 30% reduction in packaging in the mug eggs. In 2011, 100 tonnes of plastic was removed across the entire range.

David Rennie, managing director, Nestlé Confectionery UK & Ireland, says, “Nestlé carefully considers the environmental impact of packaging as an integral part of its product design. Since the early 1990s, we have been reducing the amount of packaging we use through our global source reduction programme – eliminating unnecessary packaging and reducing weight while ensuring product quality.”

The move towards sustainable packaging across its entire product range is ongoing for Nestlé.

Since 2006, the company has reduced the weight of packaging for small and medium sized eggs by 30-50%. In 2009, the company became the first major confectioner to replace non-recyclable plastic with recyclable cardboard packaging in 20 million eggs – 80% of the range.

Also in 2009, Nestlé built on previous packaging reductions to Christmas selection boxes by replacing the plastic insert with a card presentation tray, making 95% of the boxes recyclable.