Walkers Chocolates, a UK confectioner, is switching its popular own brand Turkish Delight and Mint Cream chocolate bars into EvoPak RCM, a 100% recyclable paper wrapper.  The bars will begin rolling out to selected Asda and Premier stores this month.

Unlike conventional paper packaging which often contains polyethylene, consumers can dispose of the new Walkers’ wrapper in their normal curbside recycling collection along with their other paper recyclable items. Currently, it is only possible to recycle similar wrappers by returning them to store, which isn’t convenient for consumers and in many cases, where recycling processes aren’t carefully controlled, the wrapper still ends up in landfill or incinerated.  Significantly, if littered, the new wrapper does not produce harmful microplastics when it breaks down which cause serious damage to the environment and animal health.

The new paper wrapper provides a functional and environmentally friendly alternative to current snack and confectionary packaging which, over the past 30 years, has become complex with the development of light weight multi-layer structures. This has driven efficiency and shelf life, but the complexity makes them impossible to deal with at end of life. This is compounded by consumer consumption, which is often on the move, making littering a bigger problem than other formats.  The other factor is that small units using a complex combination of materials makes recycling and recovery options currently limited, resulting in landfill with no circularity option.

Developed by EvoPak, a manufacturer of sustainable paper based flexible packaging, the new paper wrapper (known as RCM) uses the same environmentally friendly technology as the world’s first fully recyclable crisp packet – the innovative polymer, Hydropol, developed by Aquapak, which is used in place of conventional plastic. 

To keep the chocolate fresh and in good condition in transit and on the shelf, the packaging needs to provide protection from oxygen, seal well on standard packaging equipment and must be easy to print on. Hydropol provides all this functionality as well as offering multiple safe end-of-life disposal options for consumers and brands who want to help eliminate harmful plastic pollution.

Hydropol allows paper to remain fully recyclable and compostable and is even compatible with anaerobic digestion. Thanks to its solubility it doesn’t interfere with the recycling process and can allow up to 100% paper fibre recovery in standard mills.

Furthermore, if unintentionally released into the natural environment, Hydropol – which is proven to be both non-toxic and marine safe – still has a safe end-of life and will dissolve and subsequently biodegrade.  It does not break down into harmful microplastics either in the paper mill or if packaging it is not disposed of as intended. It is already being used in products such as crisp packets, chocolate and garment bags.

The wrappers have been certified as recyclable in standard paper recycling mills by OPRL, the only evidence-based on pack recycling labelling scheme.  This means they feature the green recycle logo and can be disposed of in consumer curbside collections along with other paper material, unlike other wrappers.

Hydropol – performs like plastic, recycles like paper
Aquapak Polymers Ltd specialises in designing and manufacturing new polymer-based material technologies that uniquely deliver both performance and environmental responsibility at scale. Hydropol, is a groundbreaking high-performance polymer developed by Aquapak’s own research chemists that enables product and packaging design to meet all necessary functional and performance requirements, whilst increasing recycling, reducing harmful plastic pollution and supporting the circular economy.  When extrusion coated or laminated onto paper, Hydropol adds strength and barriers to oxygen, oil and grease, and its solubility allows up to 100% paper fibre recovery through paper recycling mills.

Tom Murtagh, commercial director, Walkers Chocolates, says, “At Walkers Chocolates, we have a strong focus on sustainability and are committed to reducing our impact on the environment.  As part this, we will move away from plastic to paper-based materials completely over the next three to five years where possible. Today’s announcement is an exciting step for the Walkers team with two our key customers and I hope is the start of a much bigger revolution in the chocolate category, and one which will be welcomed by consumers who can recycle the wrappers and know that no harmful microplastics are being produced at end of life.”

Mark Lapping, CEO, Aquapak, says, “Today’s announcement marks a significant step by major retailers to move to fully recyclable paper packaging.  With Brits consuming an average of three chocolate bars a week, the opportunity to reduce the impact on the environment by removing conventional plastics from this type of packaging, improving paper recycling and making life easier for consumers, retailers and brands is enormous.  Aquapak’s Hydropol™ technology has made this possible and opens the door for many other categories to do the same.”

Daniel McAlister, director of business operations at Evopak, commentes, “We have developed a special paper which we call RCM that has the potential to revolutionise packaging as we know it, thanks to the unique properties of Hydropol. The paper can be used in a range of applications from snacks and confectionary, to petcare and dry foods and cereals, and costs the same as existing materials.”