Unilever to focus on fully sustainable plastic use

Over the past weekend, Unilever revealed all of its plastic packaging will be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. Previously, the company had already promised to lower its use of plastic.

More plastic than fish in the ocean

Unilever hopes its plan will spur the entire industry to create a circular economy, which should limit the amount of plastic that ends up at dumping grounds. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, only 14 % of plastic packaging is recycled nowadays, while 40 % arrives at a dumping ground and a third gets ditched in nature. Estimations say that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.

“Our plastic packaging plays a critical role in making our products appealing, safe and enjoyable for our consumers. Yet it is clear that if we want to continue to reap the benefits of this versatile material, we need to do much more as an industry to help ensure it is managed responsibly and efficiently post consumer-use”, Unilever CEO, Paul Polman, said.

This new goal is another one of Unilever’s attempts to increase its sustainability efforts and lower its plastic use. By 2025, it hopes to increase its recycled plastic use by 25 %, while it hopes to limit its packaging use by a third.