Valio commences use of recycled plastic in food packaging

Finnish dairy manufacturer Valio has announced that it has started to use recycled plastic in its food packaging, as part of its sustainability agenda. The move contributes to the company’s larger goal: to cut milk’s carbon footprint in Finland to zero by 2035.

Valio’s new packaging for its range of delicacy cheeses is now made from at least 90% recycled plastic, while over 50% of Mifu slice and Mifu jauhis packages use recycled plastic. The firm claims it is among the first food companies to begin using recycled plastic and intends to increase its usage in the future.

Juhana Pilkama, package development manager of Valio said: “Using recycled plastic reduces the plastic industry’s environmental emissions by 40-60% compared to making the plastic from fossil oil.

“Our goal is that in 2020, all Valio sliced cheese packages in Finland are made from at least 50% recycled plastic. In the future, roughly 10% of all our packaging plastic in Finland will be recycled. That matters a lot when it comes to the environment.”

Pilkama adds: “In the future, we intend to clarify the recycling instructions we print on our packages to make recycling easier.”

The dairy manufacturer has been developing its packaging over the years to reduce its plastic usage.

In 2015, Valio started using plant-based cartons and announced at the beginning of this year that all its milk, cream and yogurt cartons sold in Finland are made from fully plant-based materials. Instead the cartons are made from wood-fibre cardboard and plant ethanol, which is a side flow of the sugarcane industry.

According to Valio, it is also discontinuing its use of black-dyed plastic in Finland, due to current recycling devices being unable to identify the colour.