Mars Food has announced an initial rollout of its new recyclable mono polypropylene (PP) packaging for its Uncle Ben’s microwaveable rice pouch range.

The supplier will pilot the packaging among Uncle Ben’s Ready to Heat Wholegrain rice, which it will soon rebrand as Ben’s Original, in Tesco stores from the middle of April.

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It will use the insights of how the material runs through its supply chain in the pilot to inform a wider rollout later this year.

The move is a part of Mars’ Sustainable Packaging Plan, which sees the supplier aiming to achieve 100% recyclable, compostable or reusable packaging by 2025.

It is expected that in-store mono PP flexible packaging will be available by the end of this year, and available in-home by 2023.

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Matt Cutts, innovation director at Mars Food, said: “This is a huge step forward for Mars and our journey to fully recyclable packaging. The work is not finished, and we hope this innovation will mean greater discussion surrounding the collection and recycling infrastructure that is needed alongside packaging development.”

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