Adani Wilmar to replace its Fortune Edible Oil Packaging with Recyclable Material to Limit Environmental Waste

by Shrutee K/DNS

Mumbai:  Building on its commitment to environmental sustainability, Adani Wilmar Limited, the largest seller of edible oil in the country, today announced that it will undertake a gradual overhaul of its edible oil packaging to make it entirely recyclable from Q1 FY-2018-19.  Currently, Adani Wilmar sources nearly 300 MT of plastic films for packaging per month and one kilogram of film produces approximate 130 pouches. As part of the plan, the fastest growing Indian food FMCG company will now source plastic films comprising a novel formulation of polyethylene (PE) resins to create a new, sustainable, all PE laminate solution from its dedicated supplier Vishakha Polyfab Private Limited (VPPL). Adani Wilmar will also have a 9-month exclusivity contract with VPPL, during which time, it will hold 'sole usage rights' of using and marketing the innovative packaging in the entire edible oil industry.

“Adani Wilmar is taking another step forward to establish strong adherence to environmental sustainability. The new edible oil packaging will be rolled out for 1 litre pouches for the first time ever in the industry, for our Fortune brand of edible oils initially and will successively cover our other sub-brands. We are talking of nearly 47 crore pouch/litres of oil per annum being packed sustainably. While no direct benefit is attributed to consumers, the empty pouches can now be resold to scrap dealers and recycled entirely instead of disposing and creating pressure on the environment. The cost of production rises minimally for us to incorporate the chemical that allows the packaging to be recycled. This will not be passed on to consumers and will be absorbed by us totally,” said Angshu Mallick, COO, Adani Wilmar. The novel formulation of polyethylene (PE) resin has already been certified by the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET), an agency under the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Government of India. The certificate of endorsement states that the co-extruded multilayer film can be recycled. Adani Wilmar’s portfolio comprises cottonseed, soyabean, sunflower, rice bran and groundnut oils. In addition to Fortune, other brands such as Aadhar, Kings, Fryola, Raag Gold and Alpha have garnered a healthy market share. Every edible oil pouch will carry a prominent, enlarged international symbol for recycling symbolized by curved, folded arrows forming a triangle in the front of every pouch.