Nestlé continues its commitment to improving packaging solutions and waste management infrastructure. On Global Recycling Day, the company highlighted efforts to enhance packaging recyclability and support waste management.
Antonia Wanner, Nestlé’s Head of ESG Strategy and Deployment, stated, “We are reducing overall packaging, improving recyclability, and using renewable or recycled materials. We also help build waste management infrastructure and support regulations.”
By the end of 2023, 83.5% of Nestlé’s plastic packaging globally was designed for recycling. For example, in the UK and Ireland, Quality Street sweets and Smarties transitioned to recyclable paper packaging.
To ensure recyclable packaging is effectively recycled, Nestlé collaborates with governments, industry alliances, and civil society to enhance recycling infrastructure. Nestlé advocates for a UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution and effective regulations.
Nestlé has partnered on 220 initiatives to establish efficient waste collection and recycling schemes globally. In the UK, a GBP 7 million investment in a new recycling facility for flexible plastics is set to open in Durham later this year.
In Brazil, Nestlé supports the Recicleiros Cidades project, benefiting over 8,000 recycling professionals by providing job training and waste collection infrastructure.
Nestlé uses recycled and renewable materials in packaging, with 41.5% of total packaging made from recycled or renewable content by the end of 2023. The company aims to increase the use of recycled polypropylene and polyethylene in packaging for brands like Nesquik, KitKat, and Purina.
Nestlé continues its work to keep packaging materials in the circular economy and out of the environment.