Mars Petcare UK to remove 180 tonnes of plastic packaging

Mars Petcare UK will replace shrink film with cardboard, across all mixed pet food multipack cans of:

• Pedigree
• Whiskas
• Chappie 
• Kitekat

The newly packaged items will be widely available in stores from 11th September 2021.

Mars was founded in 1911, has a revenue of $37bn and the global head office is headquartered in Virginia.

Mars Petcare to reduce plastic waste

The move will see 180 tonnes of plastic removed from the environment every single year – the equivalent of 30 elephants.

The new packaging is made from cardboard, meaning it is now fully recyclable, removing 15mn individual pieces of plastic annually.

Additional changes in 2021 also saw:

• Pedigree Schmackos packaging reduced by 12%
• Dreamies 60g packs also became thinner
• The company joined Asda in their trial of in-store refill zones and provided the first pet care offering with products from Whiskas and Pedigree
• A recycling programme with Pets at Home saw dedicated in-store recycling points for pet food packaging introduced across 40 UK stores

Circular sustainability at Mars Petcare

The move is the latest commitment to circularity from Mars Petcare, with more to come. 

“At Mars Petcare we’re on a mission to future proof the growing pet population and industry”, said Kim Smet, Interim General Manager, Mars Petcare. “The switch from shrink-wrap to cardboard is an important step in helping us achieve our goal of 100% recyclable packaging by 2025. We know that over the past year alone the UK’s pet population has sky-rocketed to an all-time high, tipping 20m dogs and cats – nearly a third of the size of the UK human population, so as an industry our sustainability efforts must reflect this and improve, at speed, to create the world we want tomorrow.”