CHINA – Nestlé Hong Kong, the Chinese subsidiary of Swiss multinational food company, Nestlé, has committed to sustainability with the launch of Kit Kat stick ice cream in recyclable paper packages.

The company said the new recyclable paper packaging that has replaced the traditional plastic is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to be made of 100% pure pulp.

The line of business that includes manufacturing ice cream and other frozen desserts in China has a focus on three core facets of sustainability to achieve the parent company’s sustainability agenda.

The focus includes eliminating non-recyclable plastics, encouraging the use of plastics with better recycling rates, and changing packaging that uses complex combinations of materials.

Plastic waste is one of the biggest sustainability issues the world is facing today. Tackling it requires a collective approach. We are committed to finding improved solutions to reduce, reuse and recycle.”

He added that sustainability has continued to play a major role in Nestle’s advertising and branding as the company works to combat the continued impacts of the pandemic, global instability, and supply chain disruption. 

The change in packaging from the Chinese subsidiary is timely as Nestlé group is making strides in developing sustainable packaging for waste reduction.

Nestlé Malaysia expands use of environmentally friendly packaging

Recently, Nestlé Malaysia also addressed issues related to plastic waste by expanding its use of environmentally friendly packaging.

The company has a global initiative to make 100% of its packaging recyclable and reusable by 2025.

In support of this goal, Nestlé Malaysia will use only high-quality recycled plastic resin (rPET) for its RTD products in plastic bottles.

In addition, the Malaysian subsidiary has eliminated single-use plastic shrink wrap for its MILO UHT 125ml products and replaced this with 100% sustainably sourced recyclable paper, and the company is also working to extend this innovation to the rest of the UHT range.

Furthermore, Nestlé Malaysia via its Collection and Recycling Programme has noted to be on track to achieve its target of collecting 6,000 tonnes of post-consumer packaging by the end-2022, of which 3,000 tonnes will be plastics.

Juan Aranols, CEO of Nestlé (Malaysia) Berhad, commented that making packaging greener and increasing collection for recycling are key actions on the company’s sustainability agenda.

He added that plastic waste has remained a global issue, and Nestlé Malaysia is working harder than ever to deliver innovative solutions that are better for the environment.

Meanwhile, Nestlé’s popular Smarties candies are now packaged entirely in recyclable papers after the conglomerate corporation announced last year the shift in the candy’s packaging that will be able to remove approximately 250 million plastic packages globally yearly.

All these efforts, according to Nestlé, are aimed to reduce our use of virgin plastics in packaging by one-third by 2025 as it continues pioneering alternative packaging materials to facilitate recycling.

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