Nestle changes KitKat, Quality Street candy packaging in UK

Switzerland-based Nestle Confectionary says it is transitioning the packaging of its popular KitKat and Quality Street treats across the United Kingdom to more sustainable materials. 

KitKat will introduce wrappers made with 80-percent-recycled plastic, which the company says can be recycled at more than 5,000 supermarkets across the U.K. and placed in household recycling in the Republic of Ireland. The rollout will begin this month on the brand’s two-finger products before being extended across the entire range by 2024. 

Nestle says KitKat will use the highest proportion of recycled food- grade plastic of any major U.K. and Ireland confectionary brand while reducing the use of virgin plastic. The new packs will feature the Recycle At Store On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL), a U.K. labeling method established by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) to help consumers correctly reuse and recycle more material.   

The wrappers also will provide information about the Recycling Locator Tool, a platform launched by the national WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) recycling campaign Recycle Now, which directs consumers to their nearest recycling point. Supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, Aldi and Waitrose now offer flexible plastic recycling facilities in stores. 

“Nestle Confectionary is taking a leadership position on packaging sustainability as we work towards reducing our use of virgin plastic by one-third, and making all our packaging recyclable or reusable within the next three years,” Nestle Business Executive Officer Richard Watson says. “The changes we are announcing today have been informed by detailed life cycle assessments that have enabled us to identify solutions with a lower environmental impact than our current packaging.” 

Quality Street candy wrappers will shift from a double layer of foil and cellulose to recyclable paper packaging for nine of its 11 flavors. Nestle says the Orange Crunch and Green Triangle flavors will remain wrapped in foil. The company says it expects the new wrappers, contained in cartons, pouches, tubs and tins, to turn up in stores by December. 

Quality Street is the second Nestle brand to introduce paper packaging, following Smarties, which turned to recyclable paper packaging for all its products globally in 2021. The new packaging for both treat brands was developed at Nestle’s York, U.K., factory. 

In a news release, WRAP Head of Business Collaboration Helen Bird says, “We welcome these new initiatives from Nestle, founding members of The U.K. Plastics Pact, to improve the recyclability of Quality Street and using advanced recycling technology to include recycled plastic into its KitKat packaging—something we need to significantly ramp up in the U.K. and across the world. We look forward to further roll-out.”