Mondelēz meets its plastic reduction goal in Europe
Courtesy of Amcor
As part of its packaging transformation journey in Europe, Mondelēz International has announced two key milestones:
- Europe achieving its company’s global goal of 5% recycled content (compared to 2020).
- Completing transition from rigid plastic trays to trays containing ~80% recycled plastic across several European flagship brands. This shift enables an annual reduction of ~1,000 tons of virgin plastic across Europe.
“We are proud of these milestones, as we continue accelerating our sustainable packaging journey across Europe,” says Catherine Burgeat, sustainabiltiy senior director of Europe at Mondelēz International. “Replacing PET plastic trays with rPET is a major step towards reducing our virgin plastic usage and contributing to a more circular packaging economy.”
These achievements reflect Mondelēz International’s drive to scale recyclable materials and pilot innovative circularity solutions across major European markets, it says—including the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland—demonstrating the company’s ability to deploy packaging improvements at scale.
To continue reducing the use of virgin plastic, Mondelēz International is aiming to strategically invest in diverse recycling technologies and circularity initiatives across Europe to achieve its packaging sustainability goals.
Advancing innovation through complementary recycling technologies
Mondelēz International is advancing innovation through complementary recycling technologies throughout Europe:
- Mechanical recycling: This process involves collecting, cleaning, and reprocessing used plastics into new packaging materials. It enabled the company to incorporate ~1,000 tons of rPET into trays in 2025, for selected boxed chocolates (Milka, Marabou, Mirabelle, and Suchard pralines) and biscuits products (Milka Choco Wafer, Chips Ahoy, and Oreo). Milka Pralines are already leading the way, now using trays made with ~80% rPET and eliminating color to further enhance recyclability—a change soon to be rolled out across other brands. This covers many European markets such as the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
- Chemical recycling: This process breaks plastic down to molecular building blocks, enabling its reuse in food-contact packaging. Mondelēz International has been among the early adopters of this technology in Europe, with Cadbury Dairy Milk in the UK introducing ~30% chemically recycled content in 2022, followed by Kvikk Lunsj in the Nordics in 2024. Also, a broader adoption of ~80% recycled plastic for Cadbury tablet packaging has been rolled out in 2025.
Piloting circularity across Europe
In addition to reducing virgin plastic, Mondelēz International continues to invest in helping to advance in plastic packaging circularity pilot in Germany, Belgium, the Nordics, and the UK. With a pilot initiative in Germany on Philadelphia tubs, the company helps advancing the collection and recycling of this packaging through its partnership with HolyGrail 2030, an industry initiative led by AIM (European Brands Association). By using digital watermarks, it aims to improve sorting accuracy and eventually unlock additional future sources of food-grade recycled plastic.
“Innovation in both mechanical and chemical recycling technologies is essential to increasing the availability of food-contact recycled plastic," says Richard Akkermans, packaging sustainability manager Europe. “By working closely with suppliers and value-chain partners, we are turning sustainability ambition into practical action.”
Supporting European progress towards a more circular packaging system
Mondelēz International’s progress strives to contribute to the broader transition towards more circular packaging systems in Europe and supports alignment with evolving European expectations on recyclability and recycled content.
By prioritizing the use of recycled content and advancing innovation across multiple categories, the company aims to significantly reduce its virgin plastic usage and support a more sustainable future for the snacking sector.
Mondelēz International is on the current Packaging Strategies “Top 100 Food and Beverage Packaging Companies” list. Click here to view the current “Top 100” rankings.
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
