Most commercially available toothpaste tubes are made from a combination of plastic and aluminum, which gives the packaging flexibility but also makes it difficult to recycle.

Unilever introduced its first recyclable HDPE toothpaste tubes for its oral care brands, including Signal, Pepsodent and Closeup, and plans to convert its entire global toothpaste portfolio to recyclable tubes by 2025.

Why make HDPE toothpaste tubes?

Most of the toothpaste tubes currently available on the market are made from a combination of plastic and aluminum, which gives the packaging flexibility but also makes it difficult to recycle.

Instead of aluminum, the new tubes will use a material made primarily from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), one of the most recycled plastics in the world. It will also be the thinnest plastic material available on the 22 micron toothpaste market, reducing the amount of plastic needed for each tube. To foster broader industrial change, the innovation will be available for other companies to adopt, Unilever explained.

The first HDPE toothpaste tubes will be available in France

The company explained in a statement that after four years of development, HDPE recyclable toothpaste tubes will be available by the end of 2021 in two of Unilever’s largest oral care markets: France and India. The first launch will be in France with the company’s leading oral care brand, Signal.

Babu Cherian, director of R&D and packaging for oral care, said in a statement to PlasticsToday that the recycling process for these tubes “would largely follow the same process as HDPE bottles. This means that the washing process would take place in the recycling facility, where all residual toothpaste is removed ”.

It should be noted that the recyclable tube design has been approved by RecyClass, which sets the standard for recyclability for Europe, as well as for laboratories in Asia and North America. Meeting these stringent requirements means that new tubes can be recycled within standard HDPE recycling streams.

Samir Singh, Executive Vice President, Global Skin Cleaning and Oral Care at Unilever, said: “I am proud of this latest packaging innovation, which will see our entire toothpaste portfolio move to recyclable tubes by 2025. It has been a Long and challenging journey to get to this point, but we hope this transformation will inspire the broader industry to make the change.