As the world commemorates Recycling Day, more and more plastic waste is being diverted from landfills and into a circular economy that grows employment and entrepreneurship in African countries.
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) Group Head of Sustainability Diana Sibanda said the company was developing increasingly sustainable ways to manufacture, distribute and sell its products.
“We use our industry leadership to be part of the solution to achieve positive change in the world and to build a more sustainable future for our planet,” she said in a statement yesterday.
Locally, in Tanzania, CCBA in collaboration with its recycling partner Sunda Chemical Fiber has recycled more polyethylene terephthalate (PET) than it produced, achieving a recycling rate of 113 per cent over the past two years.
Food and beverage packaging is an important part of modern life, helping to ensure food safety and reduce food waste, yet the world has a packaging problem that requires a comprehensive response.
As part of its responsibility to help address this challenge CCBA, together with The Coca-Cola Company, has set ambitious goals to help collect a bottle or can for everyone it produces by 2030, use 50 per cent recycled content in all packaging and make 25 per cent of its packaging reusable by the same year, while making all its packaging 100 per cent recyclable by 2025.
The initiative, called world without waste relies on partnerships with customers, consumers’ communities, industry and governments to succeed.
With many initiatives underway across CCBA’s territories, a few recent highlights include the move to clear Sprite PET in six markets which makes it much easier to recycle and has greater value as a recyclable material.
Another milestone is the extension of the PETCO model, which is based on the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility, to three additional markets since its inception in South Africa and plans for further rollout to a total of eight markets.