Shareholder Resolution Asks Kraft Foods to Phase out Non-Recyclable Packaging

 

 Asserting that non-recyclable packaging is wasting valuable resources, a proposal to Kraft Foods Group from As You Sow  (Oakland, Calif., USA) received the support of 29.2% of shares voted at the giant food manufacturer’s annual shareholder meeting this past week, according to data just released by the company. The shares favoring the proposal have a market value of more than $9 billion.

The amount of waste generated annually by U.S. sales of just one product package, Capri Sun juice pouches, would circle the globe nearly five times, As you Sow notes. "It’s a tremendous waste to be using non-recyclable packaging when recyclable alternatives are readily available," said Conrad MacKerron, As You Sow SVP.

The company’s Capri Sun package is made from a foil/plastic laminate that cannot be recycled into new pouches and is rarely collected for post-consumer recovery, according to As you Sow. "Shareholders are concerned that the company is using packaging essentially designed to be dumped in a landfill," said MacKerron. Capri Sun could be dispensed in recyclable PET plastic or glass bottles, paper cartons, or aluminum cans. In fact, Honest Kids juice drinks, which are found next to Capri Sun on many grocery store shelves, recently announced that due to the environmental concerns posed by plastic pouches, it is switching to recyclable aseptic cartons, MacKerron pointed out.

The proposal asked the company to assess the environmental and operational risks associated with continuing to use non-recyclable packaging and to develop a timeline for phasing it out. Last year, following a 25% vote on the same proposal at Procter & Gamble, the consumer goods company agreed to make 90% of packaging recyclable packaging by 2020. "If P&G can do it, why not Kraft? We hope the company will recognize the risk to its brand posed by throwaway packaging and act to develop recyclable alternatives," MacKerron said.

Kraft Foods Group, Northfield, Ill., is one of the nation’s leading grocery manufacturers, producer of brands such as Jell-O, Kool-Aid, and Oscar Meyer.

With this action, As You Sow’s Consumer Packaging initiative continues its initiative engaging companies to reduce and manage the waste generated by their products. This year, As You Sow also filed similar proposals at Mondelez International and Kroger Co.