Walkers has begun rolling out new paper outer bags for all Walkers Baked multipacks following the success of a trial earlier this year.
The paper outer bag, which is a first for the flexible packaging of savoury snacks in the UK, can be recycled at home alongside other paper packaging which is collected at the kerbside.
The crisp brand claims that the move will reduce its use of virgin plastic by 180 tonnes a year and help lower greenhouse gas emissions.
The move forms part of Pep+ (PepsiCo Positive), Walkers’ parent company’s health and sustainability transformation plan, which includes an ambition of reaching net zero emissions by 2040.
The company also plans to eliminate virgin fossil-based plastic in its crisp and snack bags by 2030. This will delivered by using fully recycled or renewable content, with the brand currently trialling new ‘bagless’ Snack A Jacks multipacks that use a tape-like strip to hold together individual packets.
Gareth Callan, sustainable packaging lead for PepsiCo UK & Ireland, commented: “We are constantly innovating new ways to remove virgin plastic in our packaging. It’s exciting to see our successful trial of this paper pack lead to a nationwide roll-out. At this scale, the new packaging will deliver a huge reduction in virgin plastic, while also helping to lower our carbon footprint.”
