Heinz ketchup packets could disappear forever

Heinz dip-and-squeeze
ketchup packets
AP Photo/Gene J.
Puskar

• Heinz may be phasing out its classic ketchup
  packets.
• It’s part of a larger sustainability push that Kraft
  Heinz is spearheading. 
• By 2025, the company aims to make 100% of its
  packaging recyclable or reusable.

Heinz’s classic ketchup packets could be going the way of the fax
machine.

The condiment giant announced last week that it will aim to make
100% of its packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable by
2025. That includes its famous ketchup packets, which as any
frequent fast-food customer can attest, are frequently wasted or
thrown out.

Ketchup packets are constructed from multi-layer laminates which
use both plastic and metallic foil. These can’t easily be
recycled, as the layers are difficult to separate, Caroline
Krajewski, Kraft Heinz’s head of corporate affairs, told Business
Insider.

That’s not to mention the pesky bits of ketchup left over in the
packets, which contributes to the millions of
pounds of food waste thrown out by Americans every year.

On top of that, much of the plastic recycled in the US ends up
sitting in landfill sites — partly a casualty of President
Donald Trump’s
trade stand-off with China, which buys much of the US’s
recycled plastic. 

“Everything is on the table,” Krajewski said. “There are
so many directions we could
go.”

While Krajewski was light on
specifics about what a new replacement ketchup packet could look
like, she said the company is giving itself a seven-year runway
to figure out the best solution for the company and the
environment.

That could mean completely
redesigning the packets with new materials. S
cientists could also figure out a more
efficient way to recycle the packets, meaning they wouldn’t have
to change at all, Krajewski said.

The push is driven in part by
customers who want to see corporations take a leading role in the
fight against climate change, as well as a group of shareholders
who supported a
proposal at Kraft Heinz’s annual meeting in April to
report its recycling efforts. 

Kraft Heinz joins a long list of
its food-industry competitors in pushing for more
environmentally-friendly operations. Unilever and

Nestle, among others, have rolled out sustainability plans in
recent months.

“Because we share a lot of the same suppliers, we’re joining them
in that push right now to look at every single aspect of our
value chain and determine where we can do better,” Krajewski
said. 

At its core, Kraft’s seven-year
plan is all about “driving meaningful change,” Krajewski
said. 
“We’re looking
at taking action that helps us live our vision to grow a better
world.”