Switzerland-based international food and drinks company Nestlé announced that it is collaborating with other industry partners to build a fully recyclable, compostable fiber cup as part of the NextGen Consortium and Cup Challenge.
Image: Nestlé chief technology officer Stefan Palzer. Photo: Courtesy of Nestlé.
NextGen Consortium is an international consortium that aims to improve the design, commercialization and recovery of food packaging alternatives and NextGen Cup Challenge is the first initiative of the consortium.
The NextGen Cup Challenge drives innovators, start-ups, suppliers and industry experts to join the global challenge and develop the next generation of recyclable, compostable, hot and cold, to-go, fiber cups.
Following a series of initiatives and concrete steps taken by Nestlé to accelerate action to tackle plastic waste, the latest announcement comes in line with a commitment to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.
The company said that the challenge was launched in October 2018 and winners will be announced in this month. Winners are expected to receive a portion of approximately $1m in funding for developing their idea through the supply chain and into consumers’ hands.
Up to six winners are invited to enter an accelerator program to help scale up and commercialize their solutions.
Nestlé chief technology officer Stefan Palzer said: “Solving the issue of plastic waste requires collaboration among many different stakeholders. We are excited to join the NextGen Consortium and Cup Challenge as it brings together start-ups, industry partners and suppliers to find an industry wide, global packaging solution for sustainable to-go cups.”
Closed Loop Partners manages both the Consortium and Challenge, with Starbucks and McDonald’s as founding partners, The World Wildlife Fund as an advisory partner, The Coca-Cola Company and Yum! brands as supporting partners.
The company said that it has also joined the consortium as a supporting partner.
Closed Loop Partners external affairs vice president said Bridget Croke: “We’re thrilled that Nestlé has joined the NextGen Consortium and Cup Challenge. This demonstrates their deep commitment to reducing plastic waste and bringing their expertise to the table to help advance the discovery of global, sustainable solutions.”