Walker’s Crisps Reduces Plastic Packaging

PepsiCo’s popular Walkers potato chip snack brand has switched from film to paper for its multipacks and has begun using stretch film made with nanotechnology to reduce film use.

PepsiCo has announced that has invested approximately $18 million in new sustainable food- packaging innovations for its Walkers U.K. potato chip snack brand. The new packaging, part of the company’s PepsiCo Positive (pep+) sustainability strategy, is expected to remove 250 metric tons of virgin plastic across the brand’s supply chain annually.

As part of the move, the outer plastic packaging on millions of Walkers 22- and 24-bag multipacks will be replaced with a new paperboard carton design. After a successful trial with Tesco, the new and improved multipack outer packaging launched on shelves in all major supermarkets in the U.K. following the October announcement.

Alongside the new packaging design, Walkers has invested in a new pallet stretch film. The film, from a proprietary supplier, is produced using nanotechnology, which puts tiny air bubbles into the film to reduce the amount of plastic used while retaining the same strength and stretch needed to protect the snacks as they travel to stores across the country. The use of this new technology will lead to a 40% reduction in virgin plastic year on year, compared to the previous film. Reducing the amount of fossil fuel-based virgin plastic in the shrink wrap will also reduce the company’s annual carbon emissions by 465 metric tons.

Says Simon Devaney, sustainable packaging director, PepsiCo UK & Ireland, “We are constantly exploring new scalable solutions, and this investment marks an important step forward, delivering a huge reduction in virgin plastic across some of our best-selling ranges, while also helping to tackle our carbon footprint.

“Reducing virgin plastic across our supply chain is a key part of our commitment to creating a world where packaging never becomes waste.”