What do you do with your shop-bought lunch containers? Is your sandwich wrapper, crisp packet, or sushi tray recyclable? Montezuma’s wants people to re-think their daily habits by saying no to waste and yes to chocolate – and it’s doing so in the most appetising of ways…

Montezuma’s is inviting people to experience the sweet side of eco living, with its ‘WASTE NOT, WANT NOT RECYCLABLE SHOP’ in Covent Garden. To celebrate the launch of the brand’s new sustainable packaging, the award-winning British chocolate company is opening a pop-up shop, where you can swap your unwanted packaging for tailor-made treats, designed to imitate some of the biggest waste culprits in the UK food industry – think grab-and-go salad bowls, sandwich wrappers and those iconic black sushi trays.

The beautiful, bespoke treats may look like trash, but they’ll actually be formed from Montezuma’s classic white chocolate, filled with its indulgent truffle centre, and hand painted for a realistic finish! All chocolate lovers need to do to get their hands on these decadent chocolates, is simply hand over their used food containers – proving that recycling has more than just the one benefit!

Sitting in the window of the store will be a fully edible 3D artwork, made to replicate a bin overflowing with non-recyclable rubbish. The piece will highlight the unrecycled waste that ends up on landfill each year. The indulgent installation will be lit up 24 hours a day, to inspire passers-by to make more sustainable choices when it comes to food.

The venture comes in the wake of Montezuma’s newly designed packaging, 100% of the Montezuma’s newly designed packaging is either recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable – a first for a British chocolate company. Taking on a large-scale recyclability project, the team at Montezuma’s looked at every aspect of its packaging process. As well as using recyclable inks, adhesives, stickers and tapes, the company’s best-selling chocolate bars will now be delivered in 100% paper and card cartons, eliminating the non-recyclable metallised wrappers.

To highlight the hard work that has gone into creating the sustainable range, Montezuma’s pop-up shop will also feature a wall that will educate visitors on the company’s research and development journey. Interactive panels will show the difference between its old and new packaging and will reveal the company’s commitment to doing what’s right – not what’s easy!

Bruce Alexander, Montezuma’s Managing Director, commented: “We believe chocolate should only ever have an impact on the person eating it – not the environment, or those producing the ingredients that go into making it. That’s why we’re thrilled to be the first chocolate company to offer 100% sustainable packaging on our entire range. We’ve carried out an extensive redesign and have done as much as we can to make sure that we reduce our waste output. We hope that our new 100% eco-packaging, and the launch of our pop-up shop, will inspire people to make better choices when it comes to food. If everyone makes small changes, the positive impact on the environment will be huge.”

Founded in 2000 by Helen and Simon Pattinson, Montezuma’s has never compromised on quality or taste, using the very best ingredients and ethically-sourced cocoa from plantations that meet its strict ‘Trading Fairly’ policy. It also places the environment at the heart of how it does business and every new product will now be delivered in either recyclable, biodegradable or compostable packaging.

Montezuma’s WASTE NOT, WANT NOT RECYCLABLE SHOP will be open between 10am and 6pm on 13th and 14th March at 67 Neal Street in Covent Garden, London.