UK: Mars Chocolate Bars Switch to Paper Wrappers

Facts

• On Monday, Mars chocolate bars' plastic wrappers were switched for recyclable paper packaging at 500 Tesco stores in a limited period UK trial.¹
• The change, which comes as multinational confectionery maker Mars Incorporated is reportedly moving away from single-use plastic wrappers, follows a similar switch from competitor Nestle for their Smarties brand.²
• The trial is part of Mars Wrigley UK's aim to increase the use of recycled plastic in its packaging and cut virgin plastic use by 25% in the short term.³
• The company claims the new wrappers are designed to guarantee "food safety," as well as improve the "quality and integrity of the product to prevent food waste."⁴
• Plastic food wrappers are one of the least environmentally friendly packaging options, as about 14M tons of them end up in oceans each year. By 2050, it is predicted that more plastic will be in the oceans than fish.⁵
• Mars's trial — which comes as single-use plastic is set to be banned in England in October — will reportedly make the company's products carbon neutral in the UK, Ireland, and Canada.²

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²BBC News, ³Confectionery News, ⁴Independent, and ⁵AZoM.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Gov UK. The impact of plastic waste on the environment has become a pressing global issue and, as the food industry is a significant contributor to the crisis, it's encouraging to see large corporations take proactive measures to transition from single-use plastics to more environmentally friendly packaging solutions for their confectionery products.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Guardian. Moving away from single-use plastics will neither help protect our oceans nor strike a blow to a huge source of greenhouse emissions, as paper packaging for food products is usually laminated with layers of aluminum or plastic and makes-up around 26% of landfill waste. Mars just signed onto the government agenda, which often offloads the pollution problem onto consumers and away from big polluters.