Nestlé has launched what it says is a first of its kind, single-material pouch for its baby food products.

Developed in partnership with Gualapack, the world leader of pre-made spouted pouches, this latest initiative is by Gerber in its journey to make 100 per cent of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.

The Gerber Organic Banana Mango Puree range will come in a 100 per cent recyclable new pouch from May in partnership with TerraCycle in the US. In Finland, the pouch will be available for Piltti’s Apple Pear Blueberry Raspberry range.

Nestlé head of the nutrition strategic business unit Thierry Philardeau said the move is an important milestone in creating a wider market for recycled plastics that are safe for food.

“We are proud to have found a solution for the recyclability of baby food pouches. We began in the US and Finland for two product variants, and we aim to gradually extend the use of single-material pouch to our baby food pouches range globally,” Philardeau said.

The newly designed pouch is made from polypropylene (PP), a versatile form of plastic available commercially.

Philardeau added that this switch is expected to make more plastics infinitely recyclable and increase the value of the material for the recycling industry.

“This launch is an important milestone on how we execute our ambition to create a wider market for recycled plastics that are safe for food. We will continue to work with other stakeholders to ensure that the infrastructure needed to recycle matches material innovation.”

Gerber associate director of packaging Tony Dzikowicz said designing with a single material creates greater value for the recycling industry, promoting the development of better recycling infrastructure.

“After more than two years of experimenting and innovating, we were able to help create a first-of-its-kind solution for baby food that meets the safety and freshness requirements for our little ones,” he added.

Gerber’s sustainability efforts go beyond packaging, with a focus on reducing energy use, water use and carbon emissions in its factories, and upholding some of the industry’s strongest agricultural standards through its Clean Field Farming practices.