Media release archive

United Biscuits and TerraCycle Launch the UK’s First Biscuit Wrapper Recycling Scheme

Date: 18-06-2012

 

18th June 2012: United Biscuits, the manufacturer of McVitie’s, the UK’s leading biscuit brand, has teamed up with recycling experts TerraCycle UK to launch the McVitie’s Biscuit Wrapper Brigade.  This industry first recycling fundraising scheme is open to every biscuit consumer across the UK and incentivises consumers to save waste biscuit wrappers from landfill to be recycled in return for raising money for the charity of their choice.

Innovative new scheme

Over the last 12 months, 487,000 tonnes of biscuits with a retail value of £2.3 billion were sold in the UK. Biscuit wrappers are recyclable, but very little mixed plastic recycling is carried out by local council kerb side collections, which results in billions of biscuit wrappers being sent to landfill.   McVitie’s and TerraCycle have joined together to launch this innovative new scheme that encourages consumers to help end this enormous waste of resources by sending in any brand of used biscuit wrappers to be recycled into everyday products such as watering cans, garden benches and waste bins.

Raising money for charity

The McVitie’s Biscuit Wrapper Brigade is open to consumers across the UK who can get involved for free at www.terracycle.co.uk. Once registered, they can download pre-paid Royal Mail labels which means sending in old wrappers is completely free. All consumers have to do is simply collect any brand of biscuit wrapper, put them in a box or envelope, print the free postage label from the website and then stick it onto the package and post it. TerraCycle and McVitie’s rewards consumers with TerraCycle points for every biscuit wrapper sent in, with each point redeemable as a 1 pence contribution to the charity of the senders’ choice.

Pictured above: A landfill site – where biscuit wrappers traditionally end up.

The new McVitie’s Biscuit Wrapper Brigade provides consumers a recycling solution that saves used biscuit wrappers from landfill.