The plastic packaging on some Mars bars is being replaced by recyclable paper as part of a pilot with Tesco.
The more environmentally friendly wrappers for the chocolate bars are being rolled out in 500 Tesco stores from today.
Richard Sutherland-Moore, a packaging expert at Mars Wrigley UK’s research and development centre, said: “For Mars bar, the challenge was to find the right paper packaging solution with an adequate level of barrier properties to protect the chocolate whilst guaranteeing the food safety, quality and integrity of the product to prevent food waste.”
The company noted that it was investing hundreds of millions of pounds to redesign the packaging across its product range to meet its goal of reducing the use of virgin plastics by a quarter in the short-term, while also increasing its use of recycled plastic in its packaging.
Andrew Flood, Tesco packaging development manager, said the supermarket was “delighted to partner with Mars”, adding that the initiative aligned with Tesco’s “own strategy of removing plastic and packaging” in its business.
