Major consumer company Procter & Gamble (P&G, Cincinnati, Ohio / USA; www.pg.com) has announced plans to boost its use of recycled plastic in packaging. The company has set additional sustainability goals which include doubling the use of recycled resin and ensuring that 90% of its product packaging is recyclable, or that programmes are in place to create recycling ability. P&G says it is on track to reduce packaging by 20% per unit of production by 2020. By the time this article went to press, Plasteurope.com had not heard back from the company about the exact amount of plastics recyclate it currently uses.

It said it was also working across its supply chain to develop the capability to replace top petroleum-derived feedstocks with renewable materials by 2020, as costs and scale permit. Martin Riant, P&G’s executive sponsor of sustainability and group president, Global Baby and Feminine & Family Care, said: “We want to create industry-leading value for consumers and shareholders while conserving resources, protecting the environment, and improving quality of life for those who need it most. P&G’s growth objectives and sustainability goals are mutually interdependent.” The division he oversees sells products under the "Braun" and "Gillette" brand names, and uses mostly polyolefins and PET in its packaging, including in shampoo bottles and blister packaging. A company spokeswoman said P&G has already conducted tests using bottles made of sugar-based polymers.

One of the products which uses recyclate in its packaging is the "Gillette Venus and Olay" razor, made of PET, rPET and cardboard. P&G said the packaging is fully recyclable and uses 26% less packaging material than its predecessor.

The company has 12 established environmental sustainability goals towards its vision of 100% renewable energy use, 100% renewable or recycled materials for all products and packaging, and zero consumer and manufacturing waste going to landfill.