Plastic waste management in Namibia is set for a major boost with the establishment of a polyethylene phthalate (PET) flaking plant in Okahandja.
The recycling plant will transform discarded plastic beverage bottles made from PET material into PET flakes that has an international market value. The process involves the sorting, washing and shredding of post-consumer bottles into PET flakes, which will be returned to South Africa for further processing into recycled PET products or R-PET material.
Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) in Namibia has signed an investment agreement with Namibia Polymer Recyclers (Pty) Ltd (NPR) for the setting up of the PET flaking plant.
This investment will expand CCBA’s partnerships in Namibia to increase plastic waste collection efforts countrywide, in line with The Coca-Cola Company’s World Without Waste initiative.
The Coca-Cola Company and all its bottling partners are leading the industry to help collect and recycle a bottle or can for everyone they sell by 2030.
Plastic Packaging’s subsidiary NPR is the only mechanical recycler in Namibia that currently recycles up to 200 ton of LD plastics per month. With this partnership, NPR will expand plastic recycling to more than 400 tons per month, ensuring that a circular economy for plastics is created in Namibia.
The two companies signed the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), committing to work together to step up collection and recycling of PET in Namibia, and to increase the number of youth and women being gainfully employed in plastic waste recycling.
“We are very proud of the partnership that we have built over the years with The Plastic Packaging Group, partnerships are an important element of this ambition, and today we are moving closer to delivering on our target,” says Pottie de Bruyn, General Manager of CCBA Namibia.
“We are working toward solutions to create a circular economy that benefits society and works for our business. We’ve set ambitious goals for our business, to take responsibility for our packaging across its lifecycle and reduce plastic waste pollution,” said De Bruyn.
