International food and drink group Princes has announced it has stopped using expanded polystyrene (EPS) pots for its products in an efforts to improve the sustainability of its packaging.

Princes Group had used EPS pots for a number of years across its Napolina and Hunger Breaks brands as they were viewed as a convenient format for consumers as at-home or take-to-work solutions for a microwave lunch or snack.

The company now reports that the average recycled content across its UK manufacturing base is 45%, well above the 30% recycled content figure the Government has suggested industry should aspire to and will likely be set in the forthcoming Plastics Tax. In addition, 99% of the plastic in its UK manufactured products is widely recyclable.

David McDiarmid, corporate relations director at Princes, said: “In recent years, we have made great strides in increasing the recycled content of the plastic we use and enhancing the recyclability of plastics, such as with our exit from EPS pots which follows on from removing PVC last year.

“Our ultimate goal is to reach the maximum possible recycled content for all the plastics we use as soon as we possibly can and preferably with UK material. This is crucial if we are to achieve a circular economy for plastic in the UK.”

The company has also recently revealed it will move all of its branded tuna multipacks to cardboard sleeve packaging as part of a major initiative over the next 18-24 months.