Ice in Recycled Plastic

Magnum is the first ice cream brand to use a special, chemically recycled plastic for ice cream cups. After a successful pilot test in Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands, Unilever is now taking the next step and rolling out the project throughout Europe.

The project involves more than 7 million ice-cream sundaes. And an innovative technology: in close cooperation between Unilever and the Saudi chemical company Sabic, new cups were created for the Magnum ice cream brand. For them, Sabic has developed a new polypropylene impact copolymer for deep-freeze packaging.

According to Sabic, this gives the packaging the necessary robustness. Post-consumer mixed plastic serves as the base material. This is broken down into its molecular components by means of chemical recycling. This is then used to make new plastic, which is then used to produce recyclable ice-cream sundaes.

Closed recycling cycle aspired

The project is part of Sabic’s Truecircle initiative. In the intended closed plastic recycling cycle, plastic waste of all kinds is collected, processed and used again and again to manufacture new products. „We are proud to be the first ice cream brand in the world to pioneer this groundbreaking technology,“ said Julien Barraux, Vice President of Global Magnum. „With this new approach, we hope to lead the food and refreshment industry into a more sustainable future. to pave the way for a recycling economy. “

By the end of 2020, Magnum will use an estimated 160,000 kilograms of the certified recycled plastic. Once the project has been implemented in Europe, the new Magnum packaging will be introduced worldwide from 2021. Unilever aims to halve the use of new plastic by 2025, reducing the use of new plastic by more than 100,000 tons.