Hellmann’s moves to 100% recycled plastic bottles

The move is expected to save around 1,480 tonnes of virgin plastic every year in the UK

(Hellmann’s /Unilever)

Hellmann’s has announced that its entire range of ‘squeezy’ bottles will now be made from 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles in a bid to reduce plastic waste.

The popular mayonnaise brand currently offers its Hellmann’s Light, Lighter than Light, Vegan and flavoured mayonnaise in 100 per cent recycled bottles, with plans for the remainder of its range to follow suit by the end of 2022.

It estimates that the move will save around 1,480 tonnes of virgin plastic every year in the UK and forms part of parent brand Unilever’s ambition to halve its use of virgin plastic globally by 2025.

The news follows research conducted by the brand which found that 84 per cent of over 2,000 people polled had found that being at home more during the pandemic had highlighted the volume of plastic waste in their homes.

Andre Burger, vice president, Foods & Refreshment at Unilever UK & Ireland, said: “With our new 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles, which are also fully recyclable, Hellmann’s is helping to make mealtimes more sustainable.

“We’re proud that Hellmann’s mayonnaise is one of the first Unilever food brands in the UK to have bottles made from 100 per cent recycled plastic. It’s the small daily choices we can make that add up to make a big difference” he said.

The news follows a survey conducted by the Everyday Plastic Survey in 2020 that found that the amount of plastic waste in British households had increased significantly during lockdown.

According to their figures, UK households got through an average of 128 bits of plastic waste in a week, compared with 99 pieces pre-pandemic.

The survey, which took place over three months, also found that the majority of the plastic waste, 68 per cent, came from food and drink products.

Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of the plastic (65 per cent) was soft plastic that is rarely recycled in the UK.

Daniel Webb, who launched the Everyday Plastic survey as a way of highlighting the problem of plastic waste, said the increase of deliveries in lockdown will have contributed to the increase of plastic waste.

And in December 2020, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestlé were named as the three most plastic polluting companies for the third consecutive year in Break Free From Plastics’ (BFFP) brand audit.

Unilever, Hellmann’s parent company, was also listed in the top five worst companies for plastic pollution for the second year in a row.