Mars Petcare has stepped up its efforts to cut overall use of packaging and reduce the amount of plastic.
The pet food provider has been running three pilot schemes as part of ongoing efforts to reach its 2025 targets.
Its goals include reducing the use of virgin plastic by 25%, and for 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable.
Marika McCauley Sine, global vice president of sustainability at Mars Petcare, said: “Pets, people and the planet are at the heart of our sustainability goals. Our vision is a circular economy in which no packaging goes to waste.
“These pilots are important steps toward achieving our commitment as part of Mars Inc for 100% of all our packaging to be recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025, and to reduce our use of plastics overall.”
Pedigree Schmackos, the popular dog treat brand, has been used in one of the pilots. It has reduced 23 tons of plastic and 60 tons of paper in its sachets and cases. This is a 12% reduction in plastic usage and 36% in paper. Overall, the reduction will impact almost 20 million sachets of Schmackos in 2021.
Cat treat brand Dreamies has reduced the amount of plastic used in its 60g packs by 10%, removing 47 tons of plastic.
And Royal Canin has simplified the design and the structure of dry pet food bags to boost circularity, piloting its first flexible mono-material plastic packaging in some European countries. This packaging will be recyclable where the infrastructure exists.
These latest steps to reduce plastic waste follow an announcement in 2020 that Mars Petcare is also incorporating recycled plastic into the primary packaging for some of its popular pet food brands in partnership with global packaging supplier Huhtamaki and petrochemical leader SABIC.
