US-based food and beverage firm PepsiCo has scaled back from using 100pc recycled material in bottles for some of its UK brands, citing supply issues for recycled PET (rPET) food-grade pellets.
PepsiCo had made progress towards its target of switching all its UK ready-to-drink bottled beverages to 100pc rPET by the end of 2022, the firm told Argus, but has had to lower the percentage of rPET in some products after "facing some supply issues."
"We are working hard to establish additional supply," the firm said.
UK and European rPET food grade pellet markets are tight, with a lack of available high-quality sorted material and high competition among buyers. This has been exacerbated by the UK's implementation since April of a £200/t ($239/t) levy on all manufactured or imported plastic packaging that contains less than 30pc recycled plastic.
High bale prices and rising energy and logistics costs have eroded reclaimer margins, leading some to reduce flake production. With companies trying to increase recycled content, some suppliers are facing a shortage of plastic flake to feed food -grade production facilities.
PepsiCo is not alone in scaling back its plastic packaging pledges. UK grocery retailer Iceland recently said it would not achieve its goal to eliminate plastic packaging from its own brand ranges by the end of 2023. Its chief executive Richard Walker cited an increase in plastic use during the pandemic, along with a slowdown in investment in plastic alternatives and its need to maintain low prices during a "major cost of living crisis."
Iceland has also said it will not achieve its goal to become "plastic neutral" in 2022, which it was to do by recovering and recycling a weight of nature-bound waste plastic equal to its residual plastic footprint each year. It partnered with Clean Seas, an ocean clean-up organisation, which is designing a programme for Iceland, for this purpose.
Many large brands are reaching for ambitious recycled content and plastic reduction targets, often by 2025. Collection infrastructure needs to develop for supply to keep up with demand.
