Henkel and Plastic Bank® open first collection centers in Egypt

• Fahmy: “Henkel Egypt is proud to introduce its partnership with Plastic Bank to Egypt. Together, Henkel and Plastic Bank will lead a social movement that supports our commitment towards fostering a circular economy and achieving social progress in Egypt.”
• ElMasry: “Together, we are turning waste into opportunities. Through our partnership, Henkel Egypt and Plastic Bank will create job opportunities and improve the lives of around 4000 persons.”

• El-Kady: "Thanks to this great partnership, we can offer a solution to both the environmental challenge of plastic waste, and address social challenges related to poverty and lack of job opportunities.”

Cairo: Henkel Egypt has proudly opened 3 plastic waste collection centers in Mansheyet Nasser – Cairo, in collaboration with Plastic Bank. The project is part of Henkel’s successful and long-term partnership with the social enterprise Plastic Bank. Both partners share a joint vision: to prevent plastic waste being disposed of in the environment while making a long-term social impact for the local population.

Henkel Egypt has long entrenched its sustainable strategy on 2 key pillars: environmental sustainability and social development. Being the first FMCG company to collaborate with Plastic Bank in 2017, Henkel takes pride in preventing the plastic waste from entering the rivers and oceans, and at the same time supporting the local population by improving the lives of collector communities. Plastic Bank builds ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities, and reprocess the materials for reintroduction into the global supply chain as Social Plastic®. Collectors receive a premium for the materials they collect which helps them provide basic family necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition, and health insurance.

VP Africa & Marketing MEA & President Henkel Egypt, Ahmed Fahmy, stated: “Henkel Egypt is proud to introduce its partnership with Plastic Bank to Egypt. Together, Henkel and Plastic Bank will lead a social movement that supports our commitment towards fostering a circular economy and achieving social progress in Egypt. Joining forces with sustainability's golden triangle (government, private sector and civil society), we can position Egypt as one of the key players in the plastic waste management and exporting field. Hence, securing foreign currency & providing job opportunities.”

Through its collaboration with Plastic Bank, Henkel Egypt sets its solid foundation of sustainability on 3 main pillars: environmental awareness, economic empowerment and women empowerment & inclusion.

Environmental Awareness

Henkel Egypt aims at raising awareness on the proper disposal of plastic waste, reinforcing the Egyptian government’s efforts in improving the waste management system to better manage the collection and recycling ecosystems as well as upskilling the recycling industry in Egypt.

General Manager, Laundry & Home Care, Henkel Egypt, Omar Mohamed ElMasry, commented: “We are very proud to open our first three plastic waste collection centers in Egypt. Together, we are turning waste into opportunities. Through our partnership, Henkel Egypt and Plastic Bank aim at opening several plastic waste collection centers across Egypt, which will create 1000 jobs over a two-year period and directly impact around 4000 Egyptian citizens by establishing a long-term infrastructure. Our primary goal is to establish a supply chain that will enable Henkel and Plastic Bank to initially collect around 3000 tons of plastic waste to reach a collection capacity of 5000 tons in 2023.”

The partnership with Plastic Bank will serve an array of sectors including plastic waste collection, transportation, processing, in addition to manufacturing recycling equipment. Integrating formal channels of financial inclusion to such challenging sectors.

Economic empowerment

Consequently, Henkel Egypt is able to achieve economic empowerment for the underprivileged communities through bringing formality and structure to a very developed yet informal plastic waste collection sector. Being a full-fledged ecosystem, the purpose of the cooperation is not limited to collecting plastic waste, it also contributes to helping low-income communities have regular income and better lives. Zekry Fahim Hanna, 54 years old, is one of the collectors working with Plastic Bank in Mansheyet Nasser, Cairo: “Now I have a sense of security as I receive a regular monthly income that helps me pay rent and supports my children's needs, including their education tuition. By collecting the largest amount of plastic waste with the help of my wife, we are now able to exchange it for additional incentives thanks to Plastic Bank."

Women empowerment and inclusion

The partnership between Henkel Egypt and Plastic Bank creates job opportunities and stable income for both women and men to support their families and improve lives. We are very proud to have more than 20 women working with Plastic Bank in Mansheyet Nasser and benefiting from the ecosystem. Through the partnership, Henkel and Plastic Bank take a strong stance against child labor by requiring all collectors to be above legal age, and encouraging families to educate their children about the harmful impact of plastic waste Abeer Samir, 37 years old, one of the field coordinators working with Plastic Bank in Mansheyet Nasser, said: “We are able to provide women collecting plastic waste in Mansheyet Nasser with job opportunities and stable income by joining the Plastic Bank. This is the first step, and will be followed by the implementation of further programming to support our communities, including education fees, and health and life insurance.”

Regional Director for Egypt, the Middle East and Africa, Plastic Bank, Amr ElKady praised Henkel Egypt's prominent role, saying: “Thanks to this great partnership, we can offer a solution to both the environmental challenge of plastic waste, and address social challenges related to poverty and lack of job opportunities.” He added that Plastic Bank aims to prevent plastic pollution from reaching waterways. Accordingly, plastic waste is collected, sorted and processed, then integrated back into the recycling value chains as Social Plastic® which can be easily reintegrated into products and packaging as part of a closed-loop supply chain. Plastic Bank currently works with over 170 global partners, and operates in Haiti, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil. 

The partnership with Plastic Bank is just one of Henkel’s many activities and initiatives to foster a circular economy and to promote sustainable packaging solutions. Also, to drive progress in the field of sustainability, Henkel is collaborating with different partners along the value chain and participates in many cross-industry initiatives. For example, the company is a member of the New Plastics Economy and founding member of the global Alliance to End Plastic Waste.

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About Plastic Bank

Plastic Bank® empowers the regenerative society. We are helping the world stop ocean plastic while improving the lives of collector communities. Plastic Bank builds ethical recycling ecosystems in coastal communities and reprocesses the materials for reintroduction into the global manufacturing supply chain. Collectors receive a premium for the materials they collect which helps them provide basic family necessities such as groceries, cooking fuel, school tuition, and health insurance. Plastic Bank’s proprietary blockchain platform secures the entire transaction and provides real-time data visualization – allowing for transparency, traceability, and rapid scalability. The collected material is reborn as Social Plastic® which can be easily reintegrated into products and packaging as part of a closed-loop supply chain. Plastic Bank currently operates in Haiti, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Egypt. Learn more at www.plasticbank.com 

About Henkel Egypt

Henkel began its business operations in Egypt in 1992 and it is continuing to develop its business on a sustainable basis. Henkel Egypt is proud to have established a fruitful relationship with Egyptian consumers and the Egyptian government through its pioneering brands and the trust in both the Egyptian economy and Egyptian talents. Currently, Henkel Egypt employs more than 700 employees. In addition to more than three thousand indirect jobs. Henkel offers excellent development and career opportunities in an international environment. Henkel prides itself as a leader in technology and is committed to technology transfer to the country and development of the Egyptian labor/youth through training and on-the-job development. Henkel is committed to operating sustainably in Egypt and is a responsible corporate citizen; it invests in the community and the environment it operates in as part of its global sustainability strategy and targets.

About Henkel

Henkel operates globally with a well-balanced and diversified portfolio. The company holds leading positions with its three business units in both industrial and consumer businesses thanks to strong brands, innovations and technologies. Henkel Adhesive Technologies is the global leader in the adhesives market – across all industry segments worldwide. In its Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care businesses, Henkel holds leading positions in many markets and categories around the world. Founded in 1876, Henkel looks back on more than 140 years of success. In 2020, Henkel reported sales of more than 19 billion euros and adjusted operating profit of about 2.6 billion euros. Henkel employs about 53,000 people globally – a passionate and highly diverse team, united by a strong company culture, a common purpose to create sustainable value, and shared values. As a recognized leader in sustainability, Henkel holds top positions in many international indices and rankings. Henkel’s preferred shares are listed in the German stock index DAX. For more information, please visit www.henkel.com 

© Press Release 2021