KitKat has replaced its iconic "Have a break, have a KitKat" slogan with a new and (in our opinion) very much improved environmentally-conscious message: "Recycle me, give the planet a break".

The chocolate company has also temporarily replaced the classic KitKat logo with a chocolate version of the mobius loop that is ticking all our sweet tooth, recycling nerd boxes.

KitKat, who is already a supporter of the Australasian Recycling Label, has had a complete recycling rebrand as part of a campaign to encourage Australian's to recycle their soft plastics through the REDcycle program. REDcycle bins can be found at your local Coles or Woolworths store.

The recycling education push comes off the back of research commissioned by KitKat which found that 45 per cent of Australians aren't recycling right, even though 80 per cent would like to.

The research also found that 25 per cent of Australians don't know that soft plastics (the kind that you can scrunch into a ball) should be recycled through REDcycle bins. An additional 17 per cent of people know about the REDcycle program, but don't seperate their soft plastics from the rest of their recycling.

This is a major problem because soft plastics are one of the biggest contaminants of kerbside recycling. These small, lightweight pieces of plastic can get stuck in recycling machinery at processing facilities. Alternatively, when placed in the rubbish bin, soft plastics go straight to landfill.

By returning soft plastics to store through the REDcycle program, you're not only keeping them out of landfill, you're also helping companies like Replas, Close The Loop and Plastic Forests create new products. Replas turns soft plastics into outdoor furniture, bollards and signage; Close The Loop uses soft plastics to create a recycled asphalt additive that is used to build roads; and Plastic Forests uses REDcycle material to make mini wheel stops and air conditioning mounting blocks.

“We know Australians have great intentions when it comes to recycling but our research shows that unfortunately over a third of us (37%) either forget to drop off our soft plastics at the supermarket, say we can’t be bothered to take them back to store, or don’t have anywhere to store them at home,” Nestlé Head of Marketing Confectionery Joyce Tan said in a statement.

“In order to encourage everyone to recycle right and drop off their KitKat wrappers and other soft plastics at REDcycle collections bins, we’ve turned our iconic pack into a reminder Aussies can’t miss!”

For a limited time, KitKat's new logo will act as a friendly (but firm) reminder to return your wrapper to the store. In the longer term, the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) is here to help you recycle right by providing information on how to dispose of packaging correctly. Check for the ARL before you chuck all packaging so that things like KitKat wrappers can be used to make roads and benches instead of ending up in landfill.

Positive Environment News has been compiled using publicly available information. Planet Ark does not take responsibility for the accuracy of the original information and encourages readers to check the references before using this information for their own purposes.