Gaborone. Plastic waste collectors in Botswana will be able to earn money for their efforts thanks to a new partnership between Coca-Cola Beverages Botswana (CCBB) and Cleanico Waste Management Solutions.
As a result of a subsidy from CCBB, waste collectors will receive P2.50 for every kilogram of PET (polyethylene phthalate) plastic bottles they return to Cleanico, creating an income for the collectors while reducing plastic waste.
The We Care campaign will also seek to increase public awareness around plastic recycling and the benefits of separating waste at source, preventing it from ending up in landfills or polluting the environment.
Mixing recyclables or contaminating them with garbage makes it more difficult to prepare and process, while separating the waste makes collection and processing easier and more efficient, making it possible for the plastic to be recycled.
“Food and beverage packaging is an important part of our modern lives, yet the world has a packaging problem, which we as CCBA, together with The Coca-Cola Company, have a responsibility to help solve,” said CCBB managing director, David Chait.
“Our commitment is to invest in our planet and our packaging, to help make the world’s packaging problem a thing of the past, working in partnership with The Coca-Cola Company which launched a sustainable packaging initiative called World Without Waste in 2018.”
“We are leading the industry to help collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one we sell by 2030. To achieve this, we’re working to bring people together to help us collect and recycle. Regardless of where it comes from, we want every package to have more than one life,” said Chait.
CCBA has chosen Cleanico as the anchor collectors of PET in Botswana and is encouraging the return of every bottle they distribute.
“Our call is for individuals, recyclable waste collectors, event organisers, conference and hotel owners across the nation to bring us your PET bottles,” said Cleanico General Manager Ketsile Mogae.
Plastic bottles can be returned to Cleanico’s Buy-Back-Centre in Block 3, Plot 64278, Gaborone.
“Plastic bottles that are sent to the landfill or left in our streets takes 450 years to decompose, leaving not just an unsightly picture for our tourists and national pride but also damaging the environment.
“Waste can create employment opportunities and ease the burden on the government. When done right, there is a lot of money in the value chain associated with recycling waste material,” said Mogae.
Cleanico can be contacted on 3165053 for more information.
