By Juliet Umeh
Toward its effort of reducing the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills, in the soil, rivers and oceans, the Nigerian Bottling Company, NBC has commissioned 10 newly-minted community recycling banks worth of N120 million in Nigeria.
The company said the project which five each were commissioned in Lagos Abuja, worth about N120 million, is part of its commitment to collect one bottle for every bottle it put in the market by 2030.
Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director, NBC, Oluwasoromidayo George, said: “With the support of our implementation partner, Chanja Datti Recycling, today, we are commissioning 10 newly-minted community recycling banks with five each in Lagos and Abuja.
“With these banks, we hope to further promote the habit of responsible consumption through source waste sorting, separation and collection for recycling by the general public.
“We recognise that transforming Nigeria, the continent and the world into one without waste requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. With this firmly in mind, we have pushed initiatives such as the one we are commissioning today.
“We envision that with this community-led approach, we will support and catalyse the development of waste management infrastructure within the nation. We envision that with this, we will significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills, keeping more packaging products from ending up in the soil, rivers and oceans.
“As we forge ahead with this mission, we encourage you to join hands with us in keeping the ecosystems safe for human health and society. We enjoin you to prioritise sustainable packaging and waste management as we have done; because a world without waste is possible, but it is not possible without you.
“We are a founding member of the Food & Beverage Industry Association Producers Responsibility Organisation, FBRA, whose mandate is to champion post-consumer packaging collection in line with our global commitment to collect I bottle for every bottle we put in the market by 2030.
“As an alliance, FBRA has made significant financial investments of over 2 billion naira that have enhanced the recovery of over 44 million kilograms of rigid plastics from the environment. “These recovered plastics indicates the injection of over 10 billion Naira into the plastic recycling value chain through recycler’s off take value therefore stimulating the recycling industry and creating the foundation for foreign investments.
“These initiatives have been deeply rooted in our desire to sustain the creation of economic prosperity through the plastic recycling value chain and lead the way in driving awareness on the importance of waste separation for recycling. It is important to state that sustainable waste management benefits everyone from the environment that is rid of pollution to the people involved in the waste management value chain.
“Sorting, collecting and recycling provides additional source of income to those involved as they can convert their recyclable items to cash or other daily consumable items such as food items,” George said.
Also, Packaging Recovery Lead for NBC, Dr Idris Adetola, said: “Each of this project in each of our location is valued at 15 million, so the total value of the region is around N120 million.”
On how the company is leveraging technology to achieve its mission, Adetola said: “As part of this project, our implementing partner which we were very deliberate when we were choosing is also technology-enable and tech driven.
“Our implementing partner which is has a recycle app and with the app, you can make a request from your house to say I have paper, bottles and they will come to your home to pick and not his pick it up. You can accumulate points which you can now convert to bank account, transfer cash to bank account from the point that it has accumulated. You can use it for recharge, light bill and whole lots of other things, so it is extremely tech-enabled.”
