UK ready-to-eat pulses and grains brand is set to launch the category’s first recycle scheme, which aims to keep 100K packs out of landfill in first year. Merchant Gourmet – the leading healthy pulses and grains brand – has launched An Appetite for Change Recycle Scheme by teaming up with innovative recycling partner Enval.
Using a ground-breaking process that is one step further in closing the recycling loop, it means that all its pouch products can now be fully recycled. By applying this cutting-edge innovation to packaging recycling, Enval makes previously unrecyclable plastic valuable and environmentally responsible.
The new partnership will make it simpler for consumers to recycle ready-to-use pouches which are not currently recycled by local councils, and the brand estimates it will prevent 100K pouches from entering landfill. Using its pioneering technology capable of handling flexible packaging waste, Enval will recycle the plastics in the Merchant Gourmet pouches into high-value oil that can be used to make new plastics.
Enval’s technology is the only one capable of recycling both the plastic and the aluminium layers in the brand’s chestnut pouches. This process produces aluminium ingots that will be reintroduced into the supply chain, as well as the high value oil. The shift to more sustainable packaging comes as the brand launches its ‘Appetite for Change’ campaign: saving the planet one meal at a time through plant-based products and recipes, and a commitment to being a force for good.
To join The Appetite for Change Recycle Scheme, consumers can sign up on the Merchant Gourmet website where they will be sent a pre-paid, pre-addressed envelope, which can be posted directly to Enval for recycling once it has been filled with empty pouches. Further details can be found on www.Merchant-gourmet.com
Richard Peake, Managing Director of Merchant Gourmet, commented: “I am excited to announce that we have partnered with Enval to ensure that all our ready to eat pouch packaging is fully recyclable. As well as helping people reduce their meat consumption, we are also fully committed to closing the loop on plastic recycling.
“On our journey to doing this, Enval quickly became the obvious partner for us. They have developed the world’s only truly sustainable process for the treatment of flexible packaging, and also provide a convenient way for our consumers to use the programme by simply putting their used pouches into the post through a pre-paid envelope.
The partnership feels like another really positive step forward for Merchant Gourmet as part of our Appetite for Change ethos.”
Carlos Ludlow-Palafox, CEO of Enval said: “It’s great to see a well-known brand such as Merchant Gourmet joining our scheme. We hope that this partnership will encourage similar brands to consider how they can improve recyclability in their products.”
Enval has developed the world’s only truly sustainable process for the treatment of flexible packaging. Currently, UK councils do not recycle Merchant Gourmet pouches, so this partnership is essential to the brand’s appetite for change by further becoming a force for good.
Image credit: Merchant Gourmet
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Media contact
Kiran Grewal
Editor, International Bakery
Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922
Email: editor@in-bakery.com
