Milling & Baking News - September 7, 2021 - 32

TUES | 09 07 202 1
PepsiCo pursues several strategies for reducing
plastic waste across product portfolio
CHARLOTTE, NC. - Plastic waste has emerged as an issue
consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies consistently must
address as consumers demand solutions to single-use plastics.
At SNAXPO21, held Aug. 22-24, Todd Fayne, associate director,
global snacks R&D, PepsiCo, Inc., Purchase, NY, detailed the largest
snack manufacturer in North America's strategy to address
its role in plastic waste.
" PepsiCo envisions a world where plastics never become
waste, " he said. " Our philosophy is we want to give plastic an
alternative end of life. "
There are many ways PepsiCo is approaching that goal,
whether that's package reconfigurations,
new materials or even systemic changes in
approaches to recycling.
PepsiCo's strategy focuses on three principles:
reduce, recycle and reinvent. Reducing
the size of the packaging itself is one way the
company can save not only on plastic but on
money and improve consumer perspective.
" One of the biggest complaints about
our bags is all the headspace, and we know
that's caused by product settling, " Mr.
Fayne explained. " We're working on how to
improve settling on the product early on and
improving those metrics. "
The company's investment in recycling
programs looks to systemic changes that
need to be made in order to optimize the
impact of recyclability. Much of this work is
focused on Europe and includes the newest
technologies and strategies to identify and
sort plastic waste.
This effort requires working with local
Todd Fayne, associate director, global
snacks R&D, PepsiCo, Inc.,
addressing PepsiCo North America's
strategy in plastic waste.
governments, regulatory authorities, food manufacturers
and the Association of Plastics Recycling to drive collection
and manage the waste. Mr. Fayne also explained that Europe
is moving toward chemical recycling: breaking down the
packaging to its components to become virgin resin that can
be reused.
" We support this because we realize there isn't going to be one
system that works globally, " he said. " We're going to have to have
multiple types of strategies to combat this. "
These new technologies and systems, however, require some
changes to the packaging itself. For example, bags need to be
either fully polyethylene or fully polypropylene, so PepsiCo has
responded by removing as much polyethylene from its packaging
as possible.
" We've been able to go to greater than 90% and, in some cases,
greater than 95% polypropylene, " he said. " That allows the recyclers
to have a more pure starting point rather than mixed plastics. "
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MILLING & BAKING NEWS
Mr. Fayne also spoke about digital water-marking that can
identify the material packaging is made of for the vision system
that's sorting recyclable materials. And then there's the exciting
prospect of how artificial intelligence can improve sortation
systems.
" I think what's happening in this area is going to be one of
those breakthroughs we need in terms of film waste, " he said.
" You're able to teach these computers, and they're able to identify
which bags are which material even with a small amount of it. "
In North America, PepsiCo has chosen to focus on investing
in compostable packaging for several reasons. While not many
Americans are composting food waste,
PepsiCo sees this as a valuable pursuit for
two main reasons. First is the issue of litter.
While all litter is bad for the environment -
whether in the ocean or on land - branded
litter hurts the company's image.
" If there is litter on the beach or at the
park and it's a Doritos or Cheetos bag, which
it probably will be one of ours, that's not a
good brand image, " Mr. Fayne explained.
While the company doesn't want its
packages to wind up in the landfill, parks or
ocean, the hard reality is that at least some
of it will. By investing in compostable
packaging, PepsiCo ensures it won't last.
Second, PepsiCo does see compostable
packaging becoming more common in
the future and one of the many strategies
companies will pursue and consumers
will accept in regard to single-use packaging.
In
that effort, PepsiCo is focusing on
polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) rather than polyactic acid (PLA)
packaging. One of the major challenges with compostable packaging
is communicating and educating consumers. It's complicated
to make a claim of how long the packaging will last in
the environment, Mr. Fayne explained, because temperature,
humidity and soil all will have an impact on that timeline. That
makes it easy for consumers and watch groups to call out CPG
companies who pursue compostable packaging on not fulfilling
their commitments.
" The communication aspect of this is something that hasn't
been completely figured out, " he said. " It's something, as an
industry, we're struggling with: how to not only market it
correctly but also educate both consumers and government on
how these polymers will work. "
As technology improves and snack manufacturers introduce
packaging alternatives, consumer education will be another
aspect they will have to address. MBN
bakingbusiness.com
CHARLOTTE ATCHLEY
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Milling & Baking News - September 7, 2021

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