Nestlé Waters Canada unveiled its next-generation Eco-Shape 500 ml. bottle, one of the lightest such containers in the Canadian beverage industry and the Company's latest step in an ongoing commitment to reduce plastic consumption across its brand portfolio.

Weighing just 9.16 grams on average, the bottle contains 27 per cent less plastic than its predecessor Eco-Shape bottle, which was introduced in 2007, and 60 per cent less plastic than the Company's original, pre-Eco-Shape 500 ml. PET bottle, first introduced in 2000. The Eco-Shape plastic beverage container introduced in 2007 was among the first branded 500 ml. bottles in the beverage industry to be light-weighted.

The latest version of the Eco-Shape 500 ml. bottle is currently rolling out in the Company's Pure Life and Montclair brands.  Nestlé Eco-Shape 500 ml. PET beverage containers are 100 per cent recyclable. When recycled, they become carpeting, automotive parts, toys and clothing, for example.

"With about 60 per cent of Canadians drinking bottled water, reducing the amount of plastic in our bottles is one of the best ways to reduce our carbon footprint," said Gail Cosman, President, Nestlé Waters Canada. "Our first-generation Eco-Shape bottle was a significant step and is credited with reducing our plastics requirements by 4.59 million kilograms annually since 2007 and also reducing CO2 emissions by 8 percent annually. It has also reduced high pressure compressed air consumption by 40 per cent, which has reduced our hydro-electricity consumption considerably. In the last five years, we have reduced CO2 emissions by 30 per cent for every litre of water produced."

In addition to reducing plastic in its bottles, Nestlé Waters Canada continually reviews its secondary packaging materials for reduction opportunities. As a result, the new bottles also feature a cap weighing only one gram. The Company has also eliminated cardboard side walls from the majority of its 24-packs of bottled water, its number-one seller.