Valvert unveils 100 percent rPET water bottle in Nestlé Europe first
10 Jul 2019 --- Natural mineral water brand Valvert in Belgium has today launched its new bottle made entirely from recycled PET (rPET), a first for Nestlé in Europe. This innovation is a step further towards meeting Nestlé's commitment to increase the rPET content in its water bottles to 35 percent globally by 2025.
Valvert only uses already used bottles to produce the new bottle, meaning no virgin PET needs to be created. The brand has been able to secure a reliable supply of the high-quality, food-grade rPET that is required for bottled water. This will allow not only the launch of the 100 percent rPET bottle of 150cl but also a 50 percent rPET bottle of 50cl at the same time. The goal is to have the 50cl bottle also made entirely of rPET by the end of 2019.
“We believe the new Valvert 100 percent rPET bottle is a gamechanger in the next generation of sustainable packaging, stimulating a bottle-to-bottle circular economy,” comments Emmanuel Gruffat, General Manager of Nestlé Waters Benelux.
The launch of Valvert rPET bottle is an important milestone in Nestlé's approach to tackling packaging waste and commitment to a circular economy, the food and beverage giant says.
“We are determined to look at every option available to help solve the plastic waste challenge and we are embracing multiple solutions that can have an impact now such as developing new materials, improving collection and recycling schemes and driving new behaviors,” notes Michel Mersch, CEO Nestlé Belgilux.
“R&D is in our DNA and we intend to leverage this expertise to serve this goal. We are therefore proud to launch the new Valvert 100 percent rPET bottle as another milestone in achieving a circular economy and in our journey towards sustainability,” Mersch adds.
Last year, Nestlé Pure Life with 100 percent rPET bottles were launched in North America. America’s spring water brand Poland Spring also announced its plan to convert its portfolio to recycled plastic by 2021.
The use of rPET is on the rise. Emphasizing the heightened call for a circular economy, Evian has teamed up recycling advocates RECOUP to supply the Wimbledon 2019 tennis championship with bottled water packaged in 100 percent rPET plastic, while increasing the available number of recycling bins on the premises.
Also this month, PepsiCo announced that premium bottled water brand LIFEWTR will be packaged in 100 percent rPET and that bubly sparkling water will no longer be packaged in plastic by 2020. Bubly will instead be packaged in aluminum cans. The company's AQUAFINA water brand will also offer aluminum can packaging in US foodservice outlets, while the brand tests the move in retail.
Last month, Coca-Cola announced that its GLACÉAU smartwater bottles will be made from 100 percent rPET by the end of the year in a move that is expected to remove 3,100 tons of virgin plastic from circulation.
However, it is not only multinationals that are driving the use of rPET. Start-up Garçon Wines has achieved international recognition for its 100 percent rPET flatline wine bottles. Speaking to PackagingInsights at the Global Packaged Summit 2019 in Amsterdam, CEO and Co-Founder Santiago Navarro described the long-term economic benefits of rPET, despite the challenges of cost-effectiveness and availability in comparison to virgin PET.
By Joshua Poole
