Nestle Nigeria has introduced new bottles with 50 percent recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET), to reduce the use of virgin plastics in its packaging.
Speaking at the official presentation of the new Nestle Pure Life bottles in Abuja on Wednesday, the Managing Director of the Company, Mr Wassim Elhusseini, said it had been working with partners to recover as many plastics as they sold.
According to him, ”In 2021, we started on the step by teaming up with ALEF, a recycling company, to achieve our objective of cutting virgin plastic in our packaging by a third by 2025”.
He commended the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) for ensuring compliance with the highest standards.
”Today, we are very proud to be the first to achieve this milestone of 50 percent rPET inclusion in our water bottles in Nigeria, ” he said. ”Thanks to the resilience of our team working with ALEF to produce food-grade PET in Nigeria.
“Nestlé Nigeria has been at the forefront of efforts to develop well-functioning collection, sorting, and recycling systems for PET in Nigeria.
“We have also been at the forefront from introducing innovative bottles to collaborating with other stakeholders for increased collection while building an eco-system for recycling. ”ALEF was instrumental to achieving the 50 percent rPET in Nestlé Pure Life bottles,” he said.
The Category and Marketing Manager, Nestlé Waters, Ms. Joy Abdulahi-Johnson said the company is taking steps to minimise the impact of their production process on the environment.
The Managing Director of ALEF Recycling Company, Wissam Ramlawi, said they worked with regulators and suppliers to achieve the desired food-grade quality standards for rPET.
“This has been a long, rigorous journey for us, working with Nestlé’s technical and quality assurance teams to comply with their demanding standards and procedures.”
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite said quality is key to the new rPET project to ensure sustainability.
Uzoka-Anite, who was represented by the Director of the Chemical and Non-Petrochemical Industrial Development Department, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Francis Onuorah, said awareness is also required to realise the project.
”We have training for plastics pickers known as ‘baba-mbolas’ to create awareness in the plastic value chain and we will continue to encourage Nigerians on that value chain,” she said.
Blacktalker reports that Nestle is one of the largest food and beverage companies in Africa.