Enviro Groups Put the Squeeze on Capri Sun Packaging Waste

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Capri SunA coalition of environmental groups is pressuring Kraft Foods to reduce its Capri Sun packaging waste.

According to the Make It, Take It Campaign, whose 14 members include Greenpeace, Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club Extended Producer Responsibility Team, Kraft’s Capri Sun pouches that are made by bonding aluminum and several layers of plastic together, which makes them difficult or impossible to recycle. The coalition estimates only 2 percent are collected nationwide and says about 1.4 billion Capri Sun pouches are landfilled or littered each year in the US.

“While there are environmental benefits to pouches due to their light weight, which yields material reduction and saves energy, they are essentially designed for the dump,” according to the campaign.

The campaign is urging Kraft to design its packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable and take responsibility for post-consumer collection and recycling.

Kraft did not respond to a request for comment.

KFC, MillerCoors, Kraft, and other large brands are wasting valuable materials through poor packaging sustainability policies, to the tune of $11.4 billion a year, according to a study published earlier this year from As You Sow and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Environment + Energy Leader