Tic-Tacs introducing new “Eco” packaging

• Jun. 3 by Emma Williams (2)

Everybody’s favourite mint, Tic Tac, have announced that they are changing the packaging on all their lines.

They will be changing the boxes from polystyrene plastic to polypropylene, which Tic Tac claim will reduce their carbon footprint in a number of ways.

Polystyrene, identified by resin code 6 is a common plastic, and is generally not recycled. Polypropylene, on the other hand is identified by resin code 5, and can be recycled into new polypropylene.

However, the new design has still received some criticism from environmentalists. Johnathan Bardelline writes in his Blog  about a major problem with this design; polypropylene still isn’t accepted in most major recycling systems. So, it is recyclable, but where are we supposed to recycle it?

The new polypropylene packaging does carry other eco merits though. The Tic Tac website claims that this design will reduce plastic use by 296 tonnes a year, as well as reducing greenhouse gases by 44% and energy use by 34%.

The new packaging will also be branded with statements such as “Please Recycle” and “Be Green” – encouraging consumers to make the effort to recycle the Tic Tac boxes.

The Tic Tac Brand Manager is quoted saying; “Every small step taken to reduce, reuse and recycle is another step toward limiting our impact on the environment.” And his statement is true. This is only a small step, but with such a large confectionery brand thinking about their carbon footprint, we can only hope more think to do the same!