Why lightweighting matters

Our effort to reduce packaging materials has been a long-term commitment. From 2000-2006, before we introduced our Eco-Shape® bottle, we reduced the amount of PET in our bottles by 40%. This reduction allowed us to avoid the use of 260 million pounds per year of plastic in our products.

First generation Eco-Shape®

In 2007, we introduced our innovative Eco-Shape® bottle. Weighing less than half an ounce, the bottle uses 30% less plastic than similar containers. But we weren’t done. The smaller bottle enabled us to reduce our label 35% compared to our previous one. Making these changes is estimated to have saved 65 million pounds of PET and almost 10 million pounds of paper annually.

Life Cycle Assessment

By 2008, we completed a life cycle assessment for our Eco-Shape PET half liter bottles, which revealed that plastic resin production accounted for our largest impact in terms of carbon emissions. Prior to this assessment, we pioneered efforts to reduce the amount of plastic in our bottles, making our original Eco-Shape® half-liter bottles among the first branded half-liter bottles in the beverage industry to be lightweighted.

We partnered with McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), Whole Foods Market® and GreenOps, a subsidiary of Waste Management, to create our Resource® brand. The brand is the first national spring water brand to use 50% rPET in the U.S. It’s a testament to our commitment to use recycled plastic materials. Through our partnership with GreenOps, we were able to offer easy-to-use recycling machines, which not only recycle plastic, but also educate, track, and incentivize.

Montclair® Natural Spring Water

In April 2010, Nestlé Waters Canada reintroduced its Montclair® Natural Spring Water, Canada's oldest water brand, in a bottle made of 100% recycled plastic.

After an empty bottle is collected, through the recycling process, the plastic is ground into flakes, cleaned and processed to remove contaminants. Then it is repelletized into post consumer PET which we purchase to form new plastic bottles for our Montclair rPET.

Expanding Our Use of Recycled Plastic

In 2011, our Deer Park® brand introduced a 50% recycled PET (rPET) half-liter bottle in our Baltimore and Washington D.C. markets. The bottle has a “made with 50% recycled plastic” graphic icon to educate consumers that recycling can provide material for new bottles and other products. Making bottles with recycled plastic reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 25% on average, compared to making the bottles from all new materials.

With this pilot initiative, we are able to bottle nearly a quarter of our Deer Park volume in the new 50% rPET packaging. As recycling rates increase, we anticipate that we’ll be able to broaden the use of recycled plastic in our Deer Park bottles (and ultimately our other brands), but currently there isn’t enough high quality rPET available to accomplish this goal. To that end, we’re also working to improve recycling accessibility by working with organizations such as Keep America Beautiful to place recycling bins in public spaces where people can dispose of empty bottles while away from home.

Join us in our effort to recycle as much as possible! Every bottle helps!

Research is key

We will continue with new research to understand the best use of recaptured plastic material and use these findings to help inform future strategies and work with stakeholders.