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Tag: landfill

  • Indorama Ventures, Nigerian Breweries and Genesis Energy Partner to Develop One of Africa’s Largest rPET Production Facilities

    Indorama Ventures, Nigerian Breweries and Genesis Energy Partner to Develop One of Africa’s Largest rPET Production Facilities

    Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, a global sustainable chemical company, together with Nigerian Breweries Plc, the foremost brewer in Nigeria, and Genesis Power & Energy Solutions Ltd, a leading African clean energy infrastructure development and asset management company, have entered a strategic partnership to establish one of Africa’s largest state-of-the-art recycled PET (rPET) production facilities in Nigeria, based on planned production capacity. The landmark collaboration marks a significant step toward strengthening circular economy infrastructure and sustainable packaging value chains across the region.

    Located in Lagos, the site represents is an investment to develop a facility capable of producing up to 45,000 tons of food‑grade rPET resin annually, with start‑up targeted in the first half of 2027. By converting post‑consumer PET bottles into high‑quality recycled material for packaging applications, the initiative aims to meet fast‑rising demand for recycled content, reduce plastic waste, and create local value through improved collection systems, job creation, and increased participation across the recycling value chain.

    The partnership brings together complementary strengths across the PET value chain. Indorama Ventures, the world’s largest recycler of PET for beverages, contributes expertise in sustainable materials development. Nigerian Breweries, a Heineken operating company, provides strong local market insight and engagement across Nigeria’s beverage ecosystem, while Genesis Energy supports the initiative with sustainable infrastructure and energy expertise. The project is expected to support recycling capacity in Nigeria, subject to regulatory approvals, technical validation, and operational implementation. Together, the partners aim to establish commercially viable rPET operations that enable responsible growth and long-term environmental impact.

    This initiative aligns with Nigeria’s National Policy on Plastic Waste Management, introduced in 2020 to strengthen collection, recycling, and circular economy solutions, with the goal that all plastic packaging be recyclable, biodegradable, compostable, or reusable by 2030. Lagos, as Nigeria’s commercial hub, provides a strategic base to develop recycling infrastructure capable of serving both national and regional demand.

    Commenting on the landmark partnership, Yash Lohia, Executive President of Petchem and Chairman of ESG Council at Indorama Ventures, said, “This partnership marks a defining milestone in our global recycling journey. By establishing our largest recycling facility to date and one of the largest rPET sites in Africa, we are bringing Indorama Ventures’ global expertise, proven technologies, and long-term vision for circularity to a region with immense growth potential. This investment reflects our belief that scaling sustainability solutions locally is essential to building resilient, sustainable packaging systems that deliver lasting environmental and economic value.”

    With a global recycling footprint spanning 20 facilities across 11 countries, Indorama Ventures has recycled more than 160 billion post-consumer PET bottles into high-quality recycled materials. The Nigeria facility represents the company’s first recycling investment in Africa and the largest recycling plant Indorama Ventures has ever built, underscoring the scale of the company’s long-term commitment to circular infrastructure, advanced recycling technology, and partnerships that strengthen collection, education, and innovation across the value chain.

    Genesis Energy supports the partnership by enabling sustainable infrastructure and energy solutions that underpin low carbon industrial development and circular economy systems across Africa. The company operates across 11 African countries, with utility-scale generation projects of more than 780MW in operations, ongoing construction, and advanced development in Nigeria, South Africa, Benin Republic, Zambia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Mali and United Kingdom, as well as a project development pipeline north of 4.5GW. It deploys solar, wind, battery storage, and natural gas solutions, and is pursuing an ambition to allocate up to $2 billion annually over the next five years, with a targeted 10 GW of installed and contracted capacity.

    Speaking on the partnership, Chairman and CEO of Genesis Energy, Mr. Akinwole II Omoboriowo, said, “This compelling initiative demonstrates Genesis’ commitments to deploying capital to climate resilient investments by leveraging clean energy as a strategic nexus to advancing viable economic opportunities. The investment is also a testament to how cross-sector partnerships can enable sustainable industrial development. By combining circular economy principles with resilient infrastructure and energy solutions, the initiative supports long-term environmental impact and local value creation.”

    Beyond industrial investment, the project is expected to contribute to broader environmental and socio-economic objectives through increased PET collection, diverted plastic waste away from landfill, and sustained engagement with local communities to promote best practices in waste collection and recycling.

    The signing of the partnership agreement represents the first milestone in a longer-term development roadmap and reflects a shared commitment by the partners to invest responsibly, support sustainable packaging solutions, and contribute to Nigeria’s transition toward a more circular and resource-efficient economy.

  • Emirates recycles more than 500,000 kilograms of Plastic and Glass in One Year

    Emirates recycles more than 500,000 kilograms of Plastic and Glass in One Year

    Emirates has recycled more than 500,000 kilograms of plastic and glass over the course of 2022, by collecting discarded bottles onboard for repurposing. 500,000 kilograms is almost the same weight as a fully loaded Emirates flagship A380 aircraft.

    Onboard every flight that lands in Dubai, Emirates Cabin Crew work hard to quickly separate glass and plastic bottles, before they are sent to a recycling plant in Dubai. The glass is separated by colour and crushed. This ‘cullet’ or recycled glass that is ready to be re-melted, is then sent to glass manufacturers in the UAE to include in their batch mix for new bottles. The plastic bottles are cleaned, chopped into flakes, melted into pellets, and sent to manufacturers to make other plastic products. As a result, Emirates and Emirates Flight Catering divert thousands of kilograms of glass and plastic away from landfill each year.

    The glass and plastic recycling initiative onboard was suggested by environmentally conscious Emirates Cabin Crew in 2019, as part of regular webinars and events where they are given a platform to share feedback and encouraged to share innovative ideas to key departments. The proposal was well-received and implemented within weeks.

    Emirates has several other initiatives which focus on repurposing plastic or using sustainable materials where possible;

    Emirates blankets made from recycled plastic

    For the last 6 years, Emirates has offered cosy sustainable blankets made from recycled plastic bottles to Economy passengers on long haul flights. The soft and warm blankets are made from 28 recycled plastic bottles. The bottles are shredded into plastic chips before being turned into yarn, creating a fleece material. The fine thread is then woven into soft blankets. Over the 6 years since the initiative was introduced, Emirates blankets have prevented more than 95 million plastic bottles from going to landfill. As the largest sustainable blanket programme on board in the airline industry, the manufacturing process of using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) also reduces energy emissions by around 70%.

    Prioritising responsible sourcing

    Consuming responsibly is a key environmental focus area for Emirates, who have embedded an environmental requirement in the supplier code of conduct and consider the entire lifecycle of products from the design stage. For example, wooden tea and coffee stirrers, paper straws and inflight retail bags are made using wood and paper from responsibly managed forests.

    Emirates children’s toys made from sustainably sourced material

    For Emirates’ youngest customers, the airline’s complimentary toy bags, baby amenity kits and plush toys are also made from recycled plastic bottles and other sustainable materials. Belt bags, duffle bags and backpacks are designed with specific age groups in mind and are constructed from a yarn that is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. Each Emirates kids’ backpack is made from 5.5 recycled plastic bottles and each duffle bag is made from 7. The production of the Emirates children’s bags has saved 8 million plastic bottles from landfill. The swing tags are made from recycled card, and even the outer cases that the products are shipped in are made from recycled card that can be recycled again.

    Emirates reusable onboard amenity kits

    Emirates’ Premium Economy and Economy Class range of amenity kits are complimentary for customers on long-haul flights, and feature designs that represent the four essential elements of nature – fire, water, earth, and air. The pouches are reusable and made from washable kraft paper with bespoke art printed in non-toxic soy-based ink. The contents include a selection of durable travel essentials made from environmentally friendly materials. The toothbrush is made from a combination of wheat straw and plastic, and the socks and eyeshades are made from recycled plastic, in this case, rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate). The packaging used for the dental kit, socks and eyeshades is made from 90 per cent rice paper.