The new recyclable toothpaste tubes will be used for Unilever’s oral care brands such as Signal, Pepsodent and Closeup
Unilever is set to introduce new recyclable toothpaste tubes. (Credit: Unilever)
UK-based consumer goods company Unilever is set to introduce new recyclable toothpaste tubes, as part of its sustainable efforts.
Unilever’s oral care brands such as Signal, Pepsodent and Closeup aim to use recyclable tubes for their entire global toothpaste portfolio by 2025.
The recyclable tubes, which are under development for four years, will be initially available in France and India by the end of this year.
Unilever will first launch the new recyclable tubes with Signal oral care brand in France. It will be used across its biggest range, Integral 8, which is said to represent more than a third (35%) of Unilever’s toothpaste portfolio in the country.
Generally, the toothpaste tubes are produced using a combination of plastic and aluminium, which is not easy for recycling.
The new sustainable tubes have been manufactured using material made mostly of high-density polyethylene (HDPE).
HDPE, which is one of the most widely recyclable plastics, is said to be the thinnest plastic material available on the toothpaste market at 220μ.
The design of new recyclable toothpaste tubes was approved by RecyClass, as well as laboratories in Asia and North America.
Unilever’s oral care brands have collaborated with various global packaging manufacturers such as EPL, Amcor, Huhtamaki and Dai Nippon Indonesia (DNPI) to develop sustainable solutions.
Unilever oral care packaging R&D director Babu Cherian said: “Recyclable tubes mark a key milestone in our packaging journey and, more significantly, they have the potential to transform the whole oral care industry.
“Together with our manufacturing partners, we’re making the new design available to any producers interested in adopting the new material, with the ambition to accelerate industry change.”
Unilever is also working with global recycling organisations to boost further change across the waste management industry.