Magnum, the Unilever’s ice cream brand, is further launching more than 7 million recyclable ice cream tubs made with recycled polypropylene (rPP) across other European countries, following a successful pilot launch in Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands last year.

There have been rPP options available for beauty and personal care products for some time, yet there were no solutions approved for use in food-grade packaging. So, Unilever collaborated with SABIC to develop one.

Magnum has developed ice cream tubs made with recycled polypropylene.

The rPP used in Magnum is not obtained by traditional mechanical recycling, as this is not suitable for food contact packaging. Instead, an innovative recycling process is used for transforming the plastic waste into a resin with the same characteristics as virgin food-grade resin.

This new technology allows Magnum to recycle low quality, mixed plastic waste that would otherwise most likely be destined for incineration or landfill. It is not currently possible to produce food-grade rPP with any other form of recycling system.

600,000 of the new tubs were launched in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain in 2019. By the end of 2020, all Magnum Pints tubs in Europe will be produced with rPP, which means over 160,000 kilograms of recycled plastic. From 2021 onwards, the new packs will be rolled out globally. And, Magnum aims at making all its tubs with recycled plastic by 2025.

"Through this new approach, we hope to lead the food and refreshment industry towards a more sustainable future, paving the way to a circular economy," said Julien Barraux, Global VP for Magnum.

The move is part of Unilever’s wider global packaging commitment to halve the company’s use of virgin plastic by reducing its absolute use of plastic packaging by more than 100,000 tonnes and accelerating its use of recycled plastic by 2025.

Magnum, the Unilever’s ice cream brand, is further launching more than 7 million recyclable ice cream tubs made with recycled polypropylene (rPP) across other European countries, following a successful pilot launch in Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands last year.

There have been rPP options available for beauty and personal care products for some time, yet there were no solutions approved for use in food-grade packaging. So, Unilever collaborated with SABIC to develop one.

Magnum has developed ice cream tubs made with recycled polypropylene.

The rPP used in Magnum is not obtained by traditional mechanical recycling, as this is not suitable for food contact packaging. Instead, an innovative recycling process is used for transforming the plastic waste into a resin with the same characteristics as virgin food-grade resin.

This new technology allows Magnum to recycle low quality, mixed plastic waste that would otherwise most likely be destined for incineration or landfill. It is not currently possible to produce food-grade rPP with any other form of recycling system.

600,000 of the new tubs were launched in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain in 2019. By the end of 2020, all Magnum Pints tubs in Europe will be produced with rPP, which means over 160,000 kilograms of recycled plastic. From 2021 onwards, the new packs will be rolled out globally. And, Magnum aims at making all its tubs with recycled plastic by 2025.

"Through this new approach, we hope to lead the food and refreshment industry towards a more sustainable future, paving the way to a circular economy," said Julien Barraux, Global VP for Magnum.

The move is part of Unilever’s wider global packaging commitment to halve the company’s use of virgin plastic by reducing its absolute use of plastic packaging by more than 100,000 tonnes and accelerating its use of recycled plastic by 2025.