Unilever commits to 100 pct recyclable plastic

(Corrects para 3 to make clear that EMF is an economic research group, not an environmental group.)

LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Consumer goods maker Unilever (Amsterdam: UZ8.AS - news) said on Saturday (Shenzhen: 002291.SZ - news) all of its plastic packaging would be fully reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

The maker of Dove soap, Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Knorr soups said it would also help create a plastics protocol, to encourage similiar moves across its industry.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), an economic research group working with Unilever (NYSE: UL - news) , says only 14 percent of the world's plastic packaging is recycled, while 40 percent ends up in landfill and a third in fragile ecosystems.

Unilever has already promised to reduce the weight of the packaging it uses this decade by one third, and increase its use of recycled plastic content in its packaging to at least 25 percent by 2025.

(Reporting by Martinne Geller in London)