Müller UK & Ireland Secures Long-term Partnership With Biffa to Drive Down Plastic Use
Müller UK & Ireland has secured a long term partnership with Biffa, the UK sustainable waste management specialist, which allows the dairy company to meet increased demand for packaging made from recycled materials. With demand for food grade recycled High Density Polyethylene (rHDPE) currently outstripping supply, the agreement will see Biffa continue to supply the recycled material that is used to make the dairy company’s fresh milk bottles.
Müller’s rHDPE fresh milk bottles are already 100% recyclable, and following substantial investment by the dairy company to enable it to manufacture its own fresh milk packaging, up to 40% of the plastic can be made from recycled material. Müller is continuing to drive down its use of plastic and in 2019, following an innovative light-weighting exercise, managed to remove a further 840 tonnes of plastic per annum from its fresh milk packaging.
The business recently became the first dairy company in the UK to offer fresh school milk with paper straws, and has committed to removing all plastic straws from its products in 2020.
Brendan Power, Commercial Director at Müller Milk & Ingredients, which is Britain’s largest producer of branded and private label fresh milk, cream, butter and ingredients products, says: “We are more positive about the future because we’re turning our fresh milk business into a lean, agile and customer centric operation. Our customers have made commitments to use an average of 30% recycled content in their plastic packaging, and consumer demand for innovative solutions continues to grow. We’re listening and aligning to their needs.
“Most of our packaging is made on site, not trucked in from elsewhere. So with this long term supply agreement, and our unique capability to pursue further inhouse innovation, we are able to offer our customers a leading plastics proposition.”
Chris Hanlon, Commercial Manager at Biffa Polymers, says: “We are delighted to help Müller improve its usage of high-quality food grade recycled plastic. We are a trusted partner for dairy manufacturers and are committed to supporting them achieve their sustainability targets with innovative, industry leading technologies.”
