Reducing the weight of our bottles constitutes another priority area to optimize our business. In recent years, Nestlé Waters has stepped up its efforts on that front: 24% less plastic used per liter produced between 2004 and 2009. For 2010, we are aiming for an additional 3% decrease. The continued weight reduction of our bottles is the result of research work done by our teams at the Product Technology Centre Water. (Nestlé Waters R&D center).

End 2009, we released the lightest 0.5 liter plastic bottle, the new Eco-Shape bottle, on the U.S. market. The Eco-Shape half-liter bottle at that time weighed 9.2 grams i.e 25% lighter than the previous Eco-Shape bottle released in 2007.

Towards the next generation bottle
Last but not least, we are exploring all new packaging solutions that could reduce our environmental impacts even more in the future. Bio-plastics are compostable and biodegradable. They are made out of renewable resources, such as corn, soybean, potato and other plant materials. While "first-generation" bio-plastics are a promising step in creating renewable materials for the future, there are still some technological and economical challenges to overcome, such as their relatively short shelf-life, greater permeability to water and lack of suitable waste collection systems... We are actively working on developing viable solutions for the coming years!