Nestlé Waters North America announced that it has begun adding the clear and consistent How2Recyle instruction to the labels on half-liter bottles of all its major U.S. brands. This includes its purified water brand Nestlé® Pure Life® as well as its regional spring water brands, Poland Spring®, Deer Park®, Ice Mountain®, Zephyrhills®, Ozarka® and Arrowhead®. 

With this move, Nestle Waters North America becomes the first beverage manufacturer in North America to add this label to all its major U.S. bottled water brands. The company anticipates completing the massive How2Recycle® transition and roll out by September 2017.

Variation in recycling programs, unclear labeling and inaccurate recyclability claims make recycling a challenge in the United States.

The How2Recycle label was first created in 2012 by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, a membership-based collaborative made up of businesses, educational institutions, and government agencies to help make recycling easier for consumers. It has so far been adopted by more than 65 brands and retailers and can be found on thousands of products on shelves today. 

“We cannot overstate the environmental importance of the ‘Empty & Replace Cap’ instruction on these bottles; it means fewer loose caps will have the potential to get into our waterways and oceans,” says Kelly Cramer, who leads How2Recycle at Sustainable Packaging Coalition. “Importantly, it also helps ensure that the caps will be recycled. That’s because when caps are replaced on bottles that go through the recycling stream, it’s less likely that they will fall through recyclers’ equipment and be discarded. Nestlé Waters’ confident move to put the How2Recycle label so prominently on so many bottles is a statement that they are serious about helping people recycle more, and better.”

Nestle Pure Life began the initiative this month with the How2Recycle® label being added to certain Nestlé Pure Life half-liter bottles produced in this country. Following on from the current Nestlé Pure Life rollout, the new label will begin to appear on certain Poland Spring, Deer Park, Ozarka, Ice Mountain and Zephyrhills brand half-liter bottles in August. The How2Recycle label will begin appearing on certain Arrowhead half-liter bottles during the month of September.

“Our goal has been to find a compelling and simple way to educate and encourage all Americans to recycle the bottle,” said Nelson Switzer, Chief Sustainability Officer at Nestlé Waters North America. “By adopting the How2Recycle label, millions of consumers will now have a clear and consistent recycling guide on the side of the bottle – driving recovery of the bottle and a reduction in environmental impact. We hope our peers and other manufacturers of packaged goods will adopt the How2Recycle labeling standard to help stimulate a revolution in U.S. recycling.”  

How2Recycle is the only U.S.-based standardized labeling system that communicates recyclability information on package to consumers. How2Recycle is featured on an array of product and packaging types, such as beverages, toys, baby products, pet care products, baking supplies, condiments and more.