Danone launches initiatives to improve packaging recyclability

Danone, Paris, has announced new commitments and actions to ensure its packaging will become 100 percent circular and to accelerate the global transition toward a circular economy of packaging, according to a Danone news release. Danone’s portfolio includes international brands, including Actimel, Activia, Alpro, Aptamil, Danette, Danio, Danonino, evian, Nutricia, Nutrilon and Volvic to name a few brands. 

“We believe the time is now to step up and accelerate, embrace our responsibility and work with others to engage a radical shift that will help free the world from packaging waste,” says Emmanuel Faber, chairman and CEO of Danone in a company news release. “We will be acting both at global and local level to ensure circularity of packaging becomes the new norm. We are announcing a series of investments and commitments that I believe will have a concrete impact. These will be amplified as we collaborate with industry peers, governments, [nongovernmental organizations] NGOs, startups and the finance sector; harness new technologies; and invest in new solutions."

According to a company news release, Danone plans to ensure that all its packaging is designed to be 100 percent recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. The company will develop alternative delivery models or new reuse models where relevant and take action to eliminate problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging. 

The company news release states that about 86 percent of Danone’s packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable, and about 50 percent of its water volumes are sold in reusable jugs. Also, Danone’s evian brand has 100 percent recyclable bottles, and it is also piloting an innovation to eliminate nonrecyclable shrink film for multipacks by using specially designed adhesive and tape handles. 

In addition, Danone’s AQUA brand in Indonesia will be launching a pilot program in 2019 to assess alternatives to plastic straws. The AQUA brand also pledged to recover more plastic than it uses in Indonesia, including through interception of marine littering. The company news release states that Danone has already invested $5.25 million in the Closed Loop Fund, and it is looking to invest in similar initiatives in the future.

According to a Danone news release, effective collection and recycling systems are needed to ensure packaging is recycled, reused or composted. So, the company announced plans to help meet collection targets set by regulators, such as the minimum 90 percent collection target for beverage bottles expected to be set in the European Union by 2025. Danone will support more effective publicly organized collection and recycling systems, including extended producer responsibility and deposit return scheme systems, when relevant, the company news release reports.

The company news release states that the company is also aiming to preserve natural resources. To help with that initiative, the company says it is using 14 percent recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) on average in its water and beverage bottles. By 2025, the company says it plans to increase that amount to 50 percent. 

Danone also released a company packaging policy in October.