Nestlé joins global governments for agreement on plastic waste
International confectionery business Nestlé has joined with international governments in and governments in signing a key agreement on reducing plastic waste.
The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment was determined at the Our Ocean Conference in Bali, Indonesia.
As part of the initiative originated by the The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and UN Environment, a major goal was established of rethinking the future of plastics. It is hoped this will be achieved by applying the principles of circular economy, in which plastics never become waste.
The global commitment represents a powerful framework to work collectively on solutions that address the root causes of plastics waste and pollution. As Confectionery Production has recently reported, the past year has seen a number of significant initiatives emerge on actively targeting waste within manufacturing, with schemes emerging in the wake of the Blue Planet II BBC TV series, which vividly highlighted the huge extent of the issue.
Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider said: “This Global Commitment is a step-change we urgently need in order to move from a linear to a circular economy. We want to act and lead by example. We will do our part to ensure that none of our packaging, including plastics, ends up in the natural environment.”
Nestlé recognises the need for preventing packaging material ending up as waste. This is the rationale behind Nestlé’s goal to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.
To achieve this goal, Nestlé has embarked on several exciting research and development projects. One of them is the NaturAll Bottle Alliance, which aims to develop 100% bio-based PET to be used for its water business.
Nestlé also continues to play an active role in the development of well-functioning collection, sorting and recycling schemes across the countries where it operates.
