USA – Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA), bottled water business of Nestle Waters has announced that it aims to use 25% recycled plastic in its packaging across the US by 2021.
This is part of the global initiative by the world beverage giant to achieve 100% recycled or re-usable plastic in its entire packaging portfolio by 2025.
In a bid to achieve this ambition, the company said it is expanding its relationship with key supplier, Plastrec (Joliette,Canada), and working with other suppliers to nearly quadruple its use of food-grade recycled plastic, or rPET, in less than three years.
“We want to take the ‘single’ out of ‘single-use’bottles. Our bottles were never meant to be thrown in the garbage, we carefully design them to be collected, recycled, and repurposed,” said Fernando Mercé,President and Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé Waters North America.
“PET plastic is a valuable resource that, if recycled properly, can be used to create new bottles again and again.
We’re proving that it can be done by making bottles out of other bottles, not ten years from now, but today.”
Last month, Nestlé Waters North America expanded its partnership with US based recycled PET plastic (rPET) supplier Carbon LITE to expand use of recycled materials in its packaging.
As a result of the agreement, Carbon LITE is expanding its U.S. operations by building a third facility in the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania.
Developing a circular economy
Nestle is addressing the economic and environmental concerns raised by the 2016 Ellen MacArthur Foundation report:The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics.
The report suggests that most plastic packaging is used only once, and that 95% of the value of plastic packaging material, worth US$80-120 billion annually, is lost to the economy.
Such initiatives include the US$6 million investment in investment in the Closed Loop Fund, which provides municipalities with access to capital for projects aimed at improving recycling programs.
Nestlé Waters also supports recycling collection programs through organizations like Keep America Beautiful, including an integrated recycling education and awareness initiative for the 10,000 students affected by the Flint water crisis.
The company was also the first beverage company in North America to add How2Recycle information on the labels of its major U.S.brands.
This year, the company launched unveiled a new 100% rPET Nestlé Pure Life® bottle in partnership with rPET supplier Plastrec.
It was also among the 250 signatories of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment to work collectively on solutions that address the root causes of plastics waste and pollution.
“Through long-term supplier contracts and our commitment to supporting initiatives to improve collection rates, we are helping to stimulate a more robust recycling market, and unlock the potential of a circular economy here in the U.S.,” said Mercé.
