Since May 10, yogurt pots made of recycled polystyrene have been on the shelves of French supermarkets. Yoplait has chosen to market its new range of yoghurt (Fruits Mixés) in the first yoghurt pot made with 50% certified recycled polystyrene (rPS) and 50% virgin material.
This choice "substantially reduces the environmental footprint of the polystyrene yogurt pot, already the lightest on the market in its category, which makes the Yoplait Mixed Fruit Basket pot the polystyrene yogurt pot with the smallest environmental footprint" says the world's second largest fresh dairy brand.
"We have chosen to involve our consumers in this commitment by displaying the presence of recycled material on the packaging. For consumers, nothing changes (...). On the other hand, its environmental footprint is reduced by 15 to 25% compared to the 100% virgin polystyrene jar" explains Nicolas de la Giroday, General Manager of General Mills France, the majority shareholder of Yoplait.
A recycling industry to be developed in France
However, at the moment, the collection of yoghurt pots by households has not yet been extended to the whole of France and no polystyrene (PS) recycling plant exists in France. Yoplait indicates that it will use PS from future French recycling and collection channels.
Today, the raw material for these pots, rPS, comes from Trinseo, a global material solutions provider and plastics manufacturer. It is then transformed into sheet by Intraplàs and the Yoplait plant in Le Mans has turned it into yogurt pots.
Yoplait is committed to achieving 100% recyclable or reusable packaging by 2025, five years ahead of the obligations imposed by European law (Directive [EU] 2019/904 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment).
A few weeks earlier, it was another dairy giant, Danone, which launched another yoghurt pot on the Belgian market made of recycled plastic . Produced in Rotselaar, Belgium, this Light & Free yogurt pot is no longer made of polystyrene (PS), but of PET, 30% of which is recycled.
