In a significant move for sustainable manufacturing, the Australian chocolate giant Cadbury has announced an ambitious partnership to completely recycle its soft plastic wrappers within the country, accelerating its journey to net zero emissions.
The Path to a Circular Solution
Cadbury’s parent company, Mondelez International, is investing in Australian biotechnology pioneer Licella to tackle the challenge of soft plastic waste. The collaboration will see Licella’s innovative CAT-HTR (catalytic hydrothermal reactor) technology deployed at the Altona Advanced Recycling Project in Victoria.
Amber Beaumont, Cadbury’s senior manager for corporate and government affairs, confirmed the company aims to have the technology operational by 2027 or 2028. This will enable the full recycling of 100% of its chocolate wrappers. Beaumont highlighted the public's disappointment following the collapse of the REDcycle scheme, stating, "I think everybody was really flat when REDcycle collapsed and not being able to return our soft plastics to store."
Building a Local Recycling Loop
Currently, Cadbury’s packaging for its blocks, bars, and pieces contains approximately 50 per cent recycled plastic materials. However, a crucial part of the new initiative is to create a domestic circular economy. "We need to create that circular loop to ensure that soft plastic being collected can go back into our packaging," Beaumont explained, "because at the moment, the soft plastic that we source for our wrappers comes from overseas."
Testing of the groundbreaking CAT-HTR technology is already underway in Europe, paving the way for its Australian implementation.
A Broader Sustainability Mission
The wrapper recycling project is just one component of Cadbury’s comprehensive environmental and social strategy. The company is also deeply involved in the responsible sourcing of cocoa from West Africa and Asia.
"A lot of the effort that we put into that program, particularly around protecting and restoring forests, is ensuring sustainable practises on cocoa farms, and really ensuring the sustainability of those cocoa communities," said Beaumont. "That’s a big part of our emissions reduction plan across the globe."
Further bolstering its green credentials, Cadbury’s two Melbourne factories located in Scoresby and Ringwood, along with its distribution centre in Trugainina, are already powered entirely by renewable energy.
