Unilever : Making flexible plastics recyclable

Alongside four of the of the UK's other largest branded manufacturers; Mars UK, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, PepsiCo, we've launched The Flexible Plastic Fund, a new £1 million fund, to boost flexible plastic recycling in the UK.

This is a UK industry first and is being led by producer compliance scheme, Ecosurety, with support from environmental charity, Hubbub.

The Fund's ambition is to improve flexible plastic recycling and reduce plastic pollution by creating more value of the material. The Fund will guarantee a minimum price per tonne for all flexible plastic that is properly recycled ready to be re-used into new plastic products. By incentivising investment in jobs and the infrastructure needed to create a circular model for flexi recycling, The Fund will help flexible plastics to be kept out of the environment and instead be re-used back into products again and again.

Participating retailers, Sainsbury's and Waitrose have launched in-store flexible plastic collection points in selected outlets throughout the UK, making it convenient and easy for customers to recycle their flexible plastics by bringing them back to store. The collected plastic will then be transported to approved recyclers.

To achieve our ambition of creating a long-term and sustainable solution to flexible plastic waste in the UK, we're calling on all manufacturers, retailers and recyclers to play their role in this vital scheme too.