McVitie’s ‘Biscuit Wrapper Brigade’ recycles one millionth wrapper

The collective efforts of the McVitie’s ‘Biscuit Wrapper Brigade’ recycling scheme have now saved 2.5 tonnes worth of wrappers from landfill sites, raising £35,700 for charities.

The initiative sees United Biscuits’ partners TerraCycle recycle wrappers into new products..

TerraCycle’s process offers consumers a way to save used wrappers from landfill, rewarding customers for every wrapper sent in for recycling with redeemable points to contribute towards fundraising for schools, charities and non-profit organisations.

The partnership was launched in the UK in 2012 to recycle the wrapper material, which TerraCycle turns into a pellet material used to make generic plastic products such as park benches or waste bins.

United Biscuits’ managing director UK Jon Eggleton said: “The programme has been embraced by people all over the UK to save used biscuit wrappers from landfill, increasing environmental awareness and raise over £35,000 to help support a variety of schools, charities and non-profit organisations.”

Recycling awareness

TerraCycle runs recycling campaigns for a variety of different types of waste, from biscuit wrappers and baby food pouches to mobile phones and laptops. The group’s projects include working with Proctor & Gamble to recycle air freshener products.

The collection and reuse firm has saved a total of 23 million pieces of waste packaging from landfill and raised £375,000 in its various campaigns.

TerraCycle UK’s Stephen Clarke said the partnership had allowed McVitie’s to take ownership of what happens to its waste. “In saving one million used biscuit wrappers from landfill and the growth in collections month on month, the McVitie’s Biscuit Wrapper Brigade is making a real difference in both saving waste from landfill and raising awareness of the importance of recycling,” Clarke said. 

Last year, the partnership ran a ‘Wrappers to Riches’ campaign, offering up to £500 in charitable prizes to collectors who could save the most waste biscuit wrappers from landfill.

Matt Field