The successful collaborative project bringing together Heinz and Tesco with packaging industry leader Berry Global and recycling technology experts Plastic Energy and Sabic to develop Heinz Beanz Snap Pots made with 39 percent recycled plastic has been recognised with a Silver Award in the global Packaging Innovation Awards.
The award recognises how the project has delivered improved sustainability for the Heinz Snap Pots while retaining what makes them so popular with consumers: handy snappable format, microwave-ready and freshness retention.
The Heinz Snap Pots produced by Berry Global use 39% ISCC PLUS-certified (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) recycled soft plastic on a mass balance basis. Soft plastic is returned by consumers to and collected by Tesco stores for conversion by Plastic Energy into an optimal oil feedstock. This is combined with virgin material by Sabic to produce an alternative feedstock to manufacture recycled food-contact approved plastic pellets.
These are sent to an ISCC-certified Berry Global site for manufacturing into new Heinz Beanz Snap Pots after extensive trials led by Sabic, Berry Global and KraftHeinz to select the correct polymer compositions to achieve the challenging technical requirements. After use the Heinz Snap Pots can be recycled through kerbside collection.
By diverting, recovering and upcycling plastics which would otherwise have been sent to landfill or incineration, this first of its kind project helps to promote and support the move towards a circular economy.
“We are delighted the Heinz Beanz Snap Pots project has received this important award,” commented Jean-Marc Galvez, Berry CPI President, Berry Global. “It demonstrates how a collaborative approach across the entire value chain can deliver innovative circular packaging design.”
Jojo de Noronha, President Northern Europe at Heinz, said: “We’re proud to have teamed up with leading experts to bring this important innovation to our customers. Our hope is that this prompts an industry-wide look at what more can be done to address the lack of soft plastics being recycled in the UK, and we can, as a collective, get better when it comes to developing new packaging solutions that are good for both our consumers and for our planet.”
The Packaging Innovation Awards is the packaging industry’s premier awards competition, recognising the best in packaging design, encouraging advancements in sustainability and performance, and inspiring the next big ideas. The awards look for creations that challenge the accepted limits of what’s possible, showcase new technologies or techniques, and inspire future innovation.