Pringles

The Pringles brand, which is part of the Kellogg’s group, is known for its original packaging. But is their packaging sustainable? Kellogg’s has a clear goal to make all its packaging reusable, recyclable at scale, or compostable by the end of 2025. This commitment was made official when the firm signed the Ellen McArthur Foundation Pledge.

To follow up on these commitments, the group worked with circpack® to make their current Pringles packaging more recyclable, and develop fully recyclable packaging in the future. To move to the circular economy mission forward, Pringles and circpack® tasked themselves with a project to understand how to recycle the current Pringles can format together with used beverage cartons (UBC).

The UBC stream was chosen because the composition of the current can (board, poly-Al, metal end) closely matches that of food and beverage cartons. To advance this project a plan was made to focus on the sorting technology. This allows Pringles to expand their engagement with new partners in waste management, to re-direct a maximum number of cans to the recycling process ahead of the introduction of a next-generation paper tube into the market.

The insights from working with circpack^©has offered a toolbox to approach waste management companies to start recycling the current can, which we are doing actively with great success in the UK.

Filip Van Hulle
^{EU R&D technical packaging manager

on the Pringles brand since 2008}