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Walkers has announced the rollout of new paper outer bags for all Walkers Baked multipacks, set to reduce the brand’s use of virgin plastic on outer packaging by 180 tonnes per year. The paper outer bag, which is a first for the flexible packaging of savoury snacks in the UK, can be widely recycled at home alongside other paper packaging which is collected at the kerbside. It is also set to lower greenhouse gas emissions of each individual pack. This latest move forms part of Pep+ (PepsiCo Positive), Walkers’ parent company’s health and sustainability transformation plan, which includes an ambition of reaching net zero emissions by 2040. The company also plans to eliminate virgin fossil-based plastic in crisp and snack bags by 2030 which will be delivered by using 100% recycled or renewable content and is currently trialling new ‘bagless’ Snack A Jacks multipacks, using a tape-like strip to hold together individual packets. Gareth Callan, sustainable packaging lead for PepsiCo UK and Ireland said: "We are constantly innovating new ways to remove virgin plastic in our packaging. It’s exciting to see our successful trial of this paper pack lead to a nationwide roll-out. At this scale, the new packaging will deliver a huge reduction in virgin plastic, while also helping to lower our carbon footprint.” The paper outer packaging will be permanently rolled out to all major supermarkets in the coming months, with the first packets now landing on shelves.