Nestlé Australia’s Project KitKat showcases a pioneering application of recycled soft plastic in food-grade packaging, marking a significant step toward circular economy practices in the FMCG sector.

Consistent with the global drive towards circularity in managing flexible packaging waste, the targets set by large FMCG companies apply to the Australian market, creating an ever-increasing appetite for post-consumer recycled polypropylene suitable for transformation back into food packaging.

In 2018, the Australian 2025 National Packaging Targets were established, aligning with those in other jurisdictions.

• 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable packaging
• 70% of plastic packaging is recycled or composted
• 50% of average recycled content included in packaging (revised from 30% in 2020)
• Phase out of problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging

“Soft plastics” is a term colloquially applied in Australia to describe post-consumer waste from flexible packaging and labels. The soft plastics segment in Australia is not a mature or large-scale system in terms of collection, subsequent reprocessing, or recycling.

Nestlé Oceania’s desire and commitment to recycled flexible packaging came together recently with KitKat—one of the most iconic and widely recognised confectionery lines in the world—in an undertaking titled by the participants as “Project KitKat”.

Project KitKat was a collaborative partnership formed and facilitated by Nestlé Oceania in which a normally linear supply chain was altered and enhanced. The purpose of this partnership was to trial a truly circular value chain approach to recycling flexible plastic waste, commonly referred to as “soft plastics.” The primary aim was to confirm proof of concept through the manufacturing of a food-grade wrapper from post-consumer recycled polypropylene, wholly using systems and technology within the country.

In keeping with its Dynamic Cycle™ philosophy, Taghleef Industries was a committed and active member of this partnership.

See all the partners and their contributions to the KitKat Project below:

• CurbCycle: undertook a curbside collection trial
• REDcycle: initiated a consumer return-to-store collection
• iQ Renew: received and sorted the collected soft plastics and created processed engineered feedstock
• Licella: converted the plastic to synthetic oil using their Australian-developed Cat-HTR™ advanced recycling technology
• Viva Energy Australia: refined the synthetic oil
• LyondellBasell: made food-grade polypropylene
• Taghleef Industries: manufactured the metalized film ZSA28
• Amcor: printed and converted the film to create the wrapper
• Nestlé: wrapped the KitKat bars, keeping them fresh and safe to eatù

For more information, please contact flexiblepackaging@ti-films.com

Learn more:

• Plastic Recycling Projects
• Circular Economy Insights
• Packaging Sustainability Innovations

From Wrapper to Resource — Nestlé’s Project KitKat Proves It’s Possible

As brands like Nestlé test food-safe recycled packaging, scalable plastic recovery and conversion solutions are essential. Klean Industries supports brands and recyclers with pyrolysis systems that turn soft plastics into circular feedstocks ready for reintegration.

Do you need food-grade recycled materials or closed-loop packaging solutions?

We help brands meet sustainability goals through integrated waste-to-resource technologies that reduce emissions and packaging waste.

Contact Klean, let’s turn more wrappers into circular value » GO.