Lusaka – Plastic waste collection and recycling will be highlighted at the 95th Zambia Agriculture and Commercial Show, where Coca-Cola Beverages Zambia (CCBZ) will drive awareness of the need to take responsibility for plastic waste and prevent pollution of the environment.
CCBZ, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, will partner with Earth Check in collecting plastic waste at the show, while also appealing to the community to separate recyclable products from their usual household waste to make it easier to recycle.
“Putting the recyclable content into a separate bag and leaving it for city council collection alongside regular waste makes recycling quicker and easier and avoids the necessity of picking out waste at the general dump site,” said Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability Director, Fronscen Haloba.
“The simple action of separating waste makes recycling far more efficient, resulting in higher rates of recycling and less waste going to landfill.
“It also supports the livelihoods of waste pickers, who are able to collect more recyclable material and earn more as a result,” said Haloba.
“At CCBZ, we are a proud industry leader in developing increasingly sustainable ways to manufacture, distribute and sell our 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.
“Food and beverage packaging is an important part of our modern lives, yet the world has a packaging problem, which we as CCBZ, together with The Coca-Cola Company, have a responsibility to help solve,” said Haloba.
The Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers are leading the industry with a bold, ambitious goal: to help collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one they sell by 2030.
“We’re reimagining our packaging to make it better for our planet and our business. We’re working to make better bottles because packaging shouldn’t harm our world. Simply put, if someone wants to recycle one of our packages, they should be able to,” said Haloba.
“For example, moving to clear plastic, like clear Sprite which we’ve introduced in Zambia, makes the bottles easier to recycle.
“To clean up existing packaging, we’re bringing people together through programmes like beach and river cleanups and other ongoing local activities. To encourage more people to recycle more often, we’re investing to help people understand what to recycle, how to recycle, and where to recycle. We also plan to work with local communities, NGOs, our competitors, and our critics to highlight this critical issue,” said Haloba.
*Update* On December 2, 2024, The Coca-Cola Company announced updated voluntary environmental goals. Read more here: The Coca-Cola Company Evolves Voluntary Environmental Goals
