Cologne-based chemical company Ineos was among those involved in the development of the packaging for PepsiCo's Sunbites brand.

According to Ineos, several companies worked together across the entire flexible food packaging supply chain to bring PepsiCo's new snack packaging to market: GreenDot provided the sourcing and supply of post-consumer plastic packaging waste. This was reportedly converted into pyrolysis oil (TACOIL™) using technology from chemical plastic recycling specialist Plastic Energy. Ineos used this pyrolysis oil as an alternative to conventional fossil raw materials to produce recycled propylene in a next step, which was then converted into recycled polypropylene resin in virgin quality at a plant in France, the company said. This is said to be done in an advanced recycling process, a complementary approach to mechanical recycling, which enables the recycled materials to meet demanding EU regulations for applications such as food packaging, touch-sensitive and medical devices. The film manufacturer Irplast has used the resin produced to manufacture packaging films that are said to consist of 50 per cent recycled materials. Finally, the packaging manufacturer Amcor processed the films into printed packaging for PepsiCo. The recycled polymer content of the packaging is said to be certified as part of the ISCC PLUS programme (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification). PepsiCo launched the Sunbites packaging using the new polypropylene films in the UK, it added. The partnership is part of PepsiCo Positive's transformation programme (pep+), which aims to eliminate the use of new fossil-based plastics for snacks and crisp bags in Europe by 2030.
 
Sources:

• Ineos press release (14.3.2024)
• Photo: © PepsiCo