Nestlé pledges to increase use of recycled plastic in Europe

Nestlé has today pledged to increase the amount of recycled plastic it uses in various forms of food and drink packaging throughout the European Union by 2025.

The company says that it will ensure that its bottles, the PET layer in laminates, caps on glass jars and tins, trays for meat products and shrink films for display trays will all contain between 25% and 50% recycled material by this time.

Nestlé’s announcement follows on from a call from the European Commission, which encouraged major manufacturers to increase the amount of recycled content in packaging distributed throughout the Union in an effort to reduce plastic waste levels.

The goals aim for 25% rPET in bottles and the PERT layer in laminate food packaging, 30% recycled polypropylene (rPP) content in caps on glass jars and tins, 50% rPET in meat product trays, and finally 50% recycled polyethylene (rPE) content in shrink films.

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

“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.”

Earlier this year, Nestlé announced its ambition to make all of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025, and this latest pledge aims to make further progress towards this eventual target.

The company was also among the 57 organisations which initially signed up to the UK Plastics Pact, which aims to transform the plastic packaging system in the UK and keep plastic in the economy and out of the ocean.