UGANDA – Coca-Cola Beverages Africa in Uganda, through its Plastic Recycling Industries initiative (PRI), has expanded its World Without Waste partnerships by inking two separate Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with Kampala-based recycling companies FengHuang Plastics Industries and Aquila Investments Limited.

The parties have committed to work together to step up collection and recycling of plastic waste countrywide.

At PRI, waste plastic is transformed into flake products which are mostly sold to foreign markets. These are then used to manufacture a range of products like polyester fibres (a base material for the production of clothing, pillows, carpets, etc.), polyester sheets, strapping, or back into PET bottles.

Meanwhile, FengHuang Plastics has the capacity to recycle up to 500 tonnes a month and Aquila currently processes and exports between 100 & 150 tonnes of PET per month.

Together, PRI, Fenghuang Plastic Industry and Aquila Investments collect over 1,500 tonnes of PET Waste a month for recycling into PET flakes, reports Newz Post.

“We are proud to be working together with new partners to increase the number of youth and women being gainfully employed in PET waste collection and recycling it into valuable material for manufacturing and export.”

Samuel Kangave – Plastic Recycling Industries initiative Manager

“We are very proud of the partnerships that we have built over the years on this journey to rid Uganda of plastic waste. We look forward to signing more partnerships of this nature to make a difference to all Ugandans down the generations.

“I call upon more partners to join this effort and for the government to take note that private businesses can exist to solve a social problem,” said Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Public Affairs & Communications Director, Simon Kaheru.

The Coca-Cola Company globally launched the ‘World Without Waste’ initiative with an ambitious goal of helping to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle sold globally by 2030.

“Partnerships are an important element of this ambition, and today we are moving closer to over-delivering on our target,” said Kaheru.

Since launching the initiative, the company has underwritten and implemented new recycling campaigns, as well as reinvented existing ones while adhering to the values of a closed-loop circular economy: a system in which all of the plastic packaging the company produces is designed to be recycled, kept in the economy, and reused in food and beverages.

“We are proud to be working together with new partners to increase the number of youth and women being gainfully employed in PET waste collection and recycling it into valuable material for manufacturing and export.

“Our responsibility is to collect and recycle plastics, and we would like to encourage everyone to join us in this cause. We are excited to have Fenghuang and Aquilla partner with us. Together we can do more,” said Samuel Kangave, PRI Manager.

Plastic pollution is currently one of the biggest environmental concerns due to the rise of single-use plastics. It has toxic pollutants that damage the environment and cause land, water, and water pollution.

Studies estimate that only 500 tonnes of plastic waste in Uganda is being properly managed. This indicates a collection efficiency of 30%, implying that most of the waste generated is not safely recycled and goes into the environment.

UN Environment Program (UNEP) recently revealed that plastic production has quadrupled over the past four decades— warning that if that trend continues, the making of plastics will make up 15% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

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