20 Nestlé volunteers from the Smithtown factory donned gloves to gather waste from South West Rocks Main Beach, Horseshoe Bay and Headland.

Nestlé Smithtown factory manager Mathew Oram said it was just one way they are taking action to help achieve a waste-free future.

"Our goal for the clean-up was simple: to leave our local community cleaner than we found it. And I am pleased to say we did. The operation has resulted in 14 large bags of rubbish and five buckets of glass being collected," Mr Oram said.

"Addressing the challenge of plastic waste requires all of us to start behaving differently, and there is no better place for us to start than from within our own company, and in our own neighbourhood.

"Our employees are the same as everyone else, they are passionate about making a difference and today has reminded us that often it is the small steps we take every day that can have a ripple effect for lasting environmental change," Mr Oram added.

Nestlé has already laid out its broader vision to achieve a waste-free future and announced a series of specific actions towards meeting its commitment to make 100 per cent of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025, with a particular focus on avoiding plastic waste and pioneering alternative materials.

The clean-up was part of a co-ordinated global volunteering effort timed around World Oceans Day on June 8 which saw more than 1000 Nestlé employees volunteer at clean- up events across Australia.

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