Flexible packaging made from recycled plastic developed for Marabou chocolate bars

LyondellBasell (LYB) has announced a collaboration with Mondelez International and several packaging partners to develop a new flexible packaging solution for Marabou chocolate bars using polymers derived from recycled plastic waste.

The packaging incorporates LYB CirculenRevive polymers made with 100% attributed recycled content through an ISCC PLUS-certified mass balance approach. According to LYB, the packaging is sourced from 75% recycled content, using material recovered from mixed post-consumer plastic waste that would otherwise be difficult to recycle.

The project brings together companies across the packaging value chain, with Taghleef Industries producing the base film, Amcor converting the material into the finished flexible packaging, and Mondelez introducing the packaging for its Marabou chocolate range.

Looking ahead, LYB said future polymer production for the packaging is expected to come from MoReTec-1, its commercial-scale catalytic chemical recycling facility currently under construction in Wesseling, Germany.

Once operational, the plant is designed to process enough recycled feedstock to produce 50,000 metric tonnes annually for use in LYB's existing polymer manufacturing operations. Feedstock will be supplied in part by Source One Plastics, an LYB joint venture in Germany that processes mixed plastic waste into material suitable for chemical recycling. Until the new facility is operational, LYB said recycled feedstock for its CirculenRevive polymers is sourced from third-party pyrolysis oil producers.

The companies said the project demonstrates how collaboration between material suppliers, film manufacturers, packaging converters and brand owners can help increase the use of recycled content in flexible food packaging while maintaining the performance standards required for food contact applications.

The packaging has also been developed with future European regulatory requirements in mind, including anticipated recycled-content provisions under the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). Chemical recycling is expected to play a role in increasing the availability of recycled material for flexible packaging applications, which have traditionally presented recycling challenges.