Nestlé Water North America Signs Renewable Plastics (RPET) Purchase Agreement
Nestlé Water North America has signed an important rPET agreement with its Los Angeles supplier CarbonLITE to purchase recycled PET plastic (rPET) from CarbonLITE.
The signing of the new contract is based on the existing partnership between Nestlé and CarbonLITE. The company, as one of the largest producers of food-grade recycled plastic rPET, will further encourage Nestlé Water North America to expand the use of recycled materials in the packaging sector with further collaboration with Nestlé.
Nestlé currently purchases rPET materials from CarbonLITE’s California and Texas facilities. Under the new contract, CarbonLITE will establish a third plant in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.
“We are delighted that CarbonLITE can set up a facility in an area critical to our manufacturing operations,” said Bill Trackim, vice president and head of supply chain and procurement at Nestlé Water North America. “The ability to source rPET materials in the region will help us better support regional economic development while promoting environmental sustainability through the use of renewable and recyclable packaging.”
CarbonLITE expects the new plant to be fully operational by early 2020, when more than 2 billion old bottles can be recycled each year. The new 200,000-square-foot recycling facility is expected to save 60,000 tons of carbon per year through the use of recycled materials and will produce 80 million pounds of food-grade rPET pellets per year.