Social Impact & Volunteering

Nestlé Waters North America kicks off community efforts to help improve the nation’s waterways

Sep 18, 2015 6:00 PM ET
Campaign: Nestlé Creating Shared Value

September 18, 2015 /3BL Media/ - As people across the country gear up to participate in International Coastal Cleanup Day on September 19, hundreds of Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) volunteers are rolling up their sleeves at more than 20 locations around the United States to help remove litter and debris from local rivers and streams.

“Nestlé Waters is committed to help foster water stewardship and increase recycling rates. A good way to do this is by connecting people to their local waterways and getting them involved in a hands on way,” said Tim Brown, President and CEO of NWNA.

Among the 20 events, NWNA is holding cleanups in California, Florida, and Washington, D.C.:

  • In Tampa, Florida, volunteers are teaming up with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful to help clean up rivers, ditches, and roadways that feed into the Hillsborough River, Alafia River and other waterways. Volunteers not only help remove trash and pollutants, but also collect data to track the number and type of littered items – which researchers from the University of Florida will be analyzing to help determine the future needs and projects for the community. Last year, volunteers removed more than 60,500 pounds of trash from 75 locations within Hillsborough County.

“We’re pitching in to help keep Florida’s rivers and streams clean,” said Kent Koptiuch, who is part of NWNA’s team of experts, geologists, and engineers and is responsible for monitoring and managing the springs at Crystal Spring Preserve.

  • At the mouth of the Santa Ana River at Huntington Beach in Orange County, California, where 200 NWNA volunteers are expected, NWNA is collaborating with the Inland Empire Waterkeeper – a grassroots water quality organization based in Riverside, California. The event is part of a multiyear restoration project called Crest to Coast, which has helped remove a total of 15,500 pounds of debris – everything from plastic bottles to shopping carts – from the Santa Ana River and its tributaries.
  • In Washington, D.C. NWNA is partnering with Anacostia Riverkeeper, a watershed advocacy organization that is working with the local community, to help improve the Anacostia River – one of the nation’s most polluted waterways. Runoff, trash and combined sewer overflows all threaten the health of the river’s eight miles of urban waterway.

“Water clean-ups are just one piece of the puzzle,” said Brown. “We are focused on keeping waste out of rivers, streams, and lakes in the first place – which is why we are also investing in new opportunities to reuse plastic again and again.”

NWNA has been increasing the amount of recycled content into its packaging – like the new 100% rPET resource® bottle, which launched this year. These efforts build on NWNA’s commitment to water stewardship, responsible packaging, and creating share value in local communities.

For more information about the cleanup in Tampa, FL please contact the Executive Director of Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, Debbie Evenson at (813) 781-7060 or Environmental Coordinator, Christina Arenas at (813) 625-0483

For more information about the cleanup on Huntington Beach, CA please contact the Program Director of Inland Empire Waterkeeper, Megan Brousseau by phone at (951) 261-1959

For more information about the cleanup in Washington, D.C. please contact Suzanne Kelly by email at suzykelly@anacostiariverkeeper.org or Trey Sherard at trey@anacostiariverkeeper.org