Recycling site to process 1.6bn PET bottles annually
Nestlé Waters North America executive vice president of corporate affairs Heidi Paul said that partnering with CarbonLITE at the Texas facility supports its efforts to boost recycled content of its containers across the board.
“It reduces the need for virgin plastic, reduces the carbon impact of each bottle and encourages people to recycle more,” she said.
Nestle has been one of CarbonLITE’s most notable customers at its California facility, which processes approximately 2bn bottles each year. The Texas plant reportedly will supply the brand’s Ozarka spring water brand with bottle stock.
Sustainability leader
According to CarbonLITE president Neville Browne, the move support’s Nestle’s position as a green leader in the packaged food and beverage field.
“We believe other major beverage companies will follow the lead of Nestle Waters,” he said. “Ever-increasing recycled content is the only real answer to the challenges facing single-use plastic bottles. The most sustainable bottle of all is the one made from earlier generations of itself.”
Breaking ground
The Texas facility, scheduled to open in late 2014, will process used PET bottles into food-grade raw material to produce new bottles. The company estimates it will process about 80m lbs of material each year.
Among the other recycled-content bottles that CarbonLITE provides material for: Nestle Waters North America’s 0.5L Arrowhead ReBorn water bottles, which are composed of 50% recycled content.
Business development
Officials in Abiline, Texas are happy to welcome the CarbonLITE recycling facility to their backyard. Richard Burdine, CEO of business development organization Develop Abilene, said the facility will help build manufacturing business and corporate diversity in the area.
“This is going to be a world class facility and it will bring 100 new jobs, from semi-skilled to highly skilled," he said. “Best of all they’ll be green jobs. Abilene will be truly on the recycling map.”
