As part of the NextGen Consortium and Cup Challenge, Swiss food and beverage company Nestlé is collaborating with other industry partners to build a fully recyclable, compostable fiber cup.
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.
“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,” said Stefan Palzer, Nestlé chief technology officer.
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.
Source: Nestle
Packaging 360 is a comprehensive knowledge sharing ecosystem for the Indian packaging industry. Our services include an online content platform to deliver news, insights and case studies; organising conferences seminars and customised training; Providing Bespoke Project Consulting, Market Research and Intelligence.
