Danone Canada invests $9M in Boucherville plant for PET yogurt cups

Danone Canada invests $9 million in its Boucherville plant to begin production of individual yogurt cups made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin, with a goal of incorporating 30 per cent recycled PET (rPET) content.

“At Danone, innovation is the driving force behind our sustainable development approach. These new yogurt cups from Oikos … represent an important milestone in our ambition to reduce the environmental footprint of our packaging and inspire other companies to follow suit towards more sustainable solutions,” said Frédéric Guichard, president, Danone Canada.

The project is supported by the Gouvernement du Québec, including a $3 million loan from Investissement Québec and a $400,000 grant from Recyc-Québec. The new packaging is being rolled out under Danone’s Oikos brand.

“As Recyc-Québec aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, it was only natural for us to be involved in making this project a reality. This effort also reinforces our dedication to supporting innovations that address problematic materials, like plastic packaging. Ecodesign is a pivotal strategy in the circular economy and is also a very important path forward that we absolutely must collectively invest in to reduce our footprint,” said Emmanuelle Géhin, president and CEO of Recyc-Québec.

“To promote better management of our residual materials ad increase their circularity, we need to review our practices and innovate in all sectors of activity, including agri-food. I’m delighted to see Danone Canada actively committed to reducing its ecological footprint and contributing to a more circular economy in Québec. It’s with initiatives like this that we will stimulate the growth of a green economy in all our regions,” said Benoit Charette, Québec environment minister.

The new PET yogurt cups are already being distributed across Canada.