Nestlé targets increased plastic recyclability with new EU pledge

28 Sep 2018 --- Nestlé has pledged to make a significant increase in the number of recycled plastics it uses in some of its packaging in the European Union. By 2025, bottles, PET layer in laminates, caps on glass jars and tins, trays for meat products and shrink films for display trays will all contain at least between 25 percent and 50 percent recycled material, depending on the packaging type.

Specifically, the food and beverage giant has pledged to make bottles 25 percent rPET by 2025; PET layer in laminates 25 percent by 2025; caps on glass jars and tins 30 percent rPP by 2025; trays of meat products 50 percent rPET by 2025; and shrink films for display trays 50 percent rPE by 2025.

The pledge comes following Nestlé’s global packaging ambition announced in April this year, where the company aims to make 100 percent of its packaging recyclable or re-usable by 2025.

“I am proud that we are already taking first concrete steps to achieve our packaging ambitions,” says Marco Settembri, Nestlé CEO for Zone Europe, Middle East and North Africa.

“Nestlé supports the Plastics Strategy of the European Union. We share the vision that no plastic packaging ends up in the environment. Recyclable packaging, good recycling infrastructure and more use of recycled material will help us close the loop,” he adds.

Nestlé’s announcement today contributes to the voluntary pledging exercise on recycled content by the European Commission. Marco Settembri underlined Nestlé’s determination by handing over the pledge in person to the European Commission today.

The drive for greater sustainability in packaging continues. Just recently, Lidl announced that it will remove black plastic from its entire fruit and vegetable range by the end of September, due to black plastic not being recyclable in the UK.

Meanwhile, supermarket Iceland is set to remove all plastic packaging from its bananas – a UK-first move that is anticipated to save 10 million plastic bags a year.

In compostable news, compostable and renewable packaging film specialists Futamura grabbed headlines at Packaging Innovations 2018 in London earlier this month with its 100 percent plastic-free, compostable crisp bag made from barrier film NatureFlex.