'Iconic' But Not Recyclable: Taco Bell Launches Plan To Recycle Hot Sauce Packets
IRVINE (CBSLA) — Taco Bell is thinking outside the landfill when it comes to its sauce packets.
The Irvine-based fast food company says 8.2 billion of its sauce packets are used across the nation every year, but they are not recyclable. "They're iconic," according to Taco Bell, but with Earth Day coming up, the restaurant chain wants to give their sauce packets a "spicier second life."
Taco Bell has joined forces with the recycling company TerraCycle which is known for collecting traditionally non-recyclable materials and making them into materials that can be used for new recycled products.
"In the food industry today, there is no widely available solution for recycling the flexible film packets that are so commonly used for condiments," Liz Matthews, Taco Bell's Global Chief Food Innovation Officer, said in a statement.
The details on how the sauce packets will be recycled have not yet been released. But Taco Bell says it has a goal of making all its consumer-facing packaging recyclable, compostable, or reusable by 2025 in all its restaurants around the world.
