Mondelēz International has worked alongside Amcor, LyondellBasell, and Taghleef Industries to implement 75% chemically recycled content into the flexible packaging for Marabou chocolate bars.
LyondellBasell’s CirculenRevive polymers are created by chemically recycling hard-to-recycle mixed plastic waste, including flexible packaging, into feedstocks for polymer production. These feedstocks are used to replace fossil-based feedstocks in existing production processes and attributed to end products via an ISCC PLUS-certified mass balance approach.
The resultant polymers are described as a drop-in, virgin-quality solution that helps brand owners incorporate recycled content into their packaging without compromising on performance or compliance with regulatory requirements.
In a collaborative approach, LyondellBasell is providing the polymers for Taghleef Industries to develop into a base film; Amcor then converts the material into flexible packaging for Mondelēz’s Marabou chocolate brand.
By using CirculenRevive polymers in its packaging, Mondelēz aims to align with recycled content mandates under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. A chemical recycling approach is also hoped to address the ongoing challenge of recycling flexible packaging waste into food-safe packaging.
In the future, LyondellBasell plans to supply future polymers for Marabou packaging through its first commercial-scale catalytic chemical recycling plant, MoReTec-1. The facility is still under construction in Wesseling, Germany; but once it is fully operational, it is expected to produce 50,000 metric tons of feedstock for LyondellBasell’s production units every year.
Whereas LyondellBasell currently sources feedstock for its CirculenRevive polymer production from third-party pyrolysis oil producers, MoReTec-1 will utilize feedstock converted from mixed plastic waste by Source One, a LyondellBasell joint venture based in Eicklingen.
Altogether, the facility is expected to streamline access to circular feedstock between LyondellBasell’s advanced sorting and recycling infrastructure and its existing crackers and polymerization assets.
“Our collaboration with Mondelez illustrates our shared vision for the future and highlights our ability to provide innovative, high-quality circular solutions tailored to demanding specifications,” said Yvonne van der Laan, executive vice president, Sustainable Solutions and Technology Business, LYB. “We’re committed to making circular and low-carbon solutions work for businesses while creating solutions for everyday sustainable living.”
“This collaboration demonstrates how LYB can connect chemical recycling innovation with the scale and reach of our existing production network,” said LYB CEO Peter Vanacker. “As we advance MoReTec-1, we expect the facility to support future polymer supply for Marabou packaging and strengthen our ability to convert hard-to-recycle plastic waste into circular feedstocks for our existing assets.
“This integrated approach positions LYB to deliver value while advancing our circular and low-carbon strategy.”
“Looking ahead, our ambition is to increase the use of recycled plastic in our packaging materials, and we’re proud to collaborate with multiple value chain players, including LYB and other industry leaders, on this journey,” said Richard Akkermans, Packaging Sustainability manager at Mondelēz International.
“For consumers, the message is simple: plastic packaging can be recycled and allocated back into new food packaging. This initiative shows what becomes possible when brand owners, recyclers, packaging material producers and converters work together to turn circular ambition into commercial reality.”
In a previous collaboration, Mondelēz International and Amcor joined forces to integrate 65% certified recycled plastic, allocated through a mass balance approach, into the bags for Cadbury’s Mini Eggs. Small and large Easter Cadbury tablets were also wrapped in 80% certified recycled plastic packaging.
Mondelēz also reports that it has achieved its global goal of 5% recycled content in its packaging, and that it has transitioned from rigid plastic trays to trays containing around 80% recycled content across several of its European brands. These changes are thought to have eliminated around 1,000 tonnes of virgin plastic across the continent in 2025.
In other news, LyondellBasell has collaborated with Henkel to integrate 30% mechanically recycled plastics and 70% bio-circular based raw materials into the brand’s WC Frisch/Bref solid toilet rim blocks. This includes biobased feedstock from CirculenRenew portfolio, which are sourced from wastes such as residues from vegetable oil processing.
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