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Volunteers picking up plastic bottles and aluminum cans to recycle. Image used for illustrative purpose.
Henkel Egypt said on Tuesday that it has tied up with social enterprise Plastic Bank to opened three plastic waste collection centres in Mansheyet Nasser, Cairo as part of its commitment to foster a circular economy and achieve social progress in the country.
The FMCG company said during an online press meet that the partnership will roll out collection centres across Egypt with the twin objective of preventing plastic waste from entering the rivers and oceans and support the local population by improving the lives of collector communities.
Plastic Bank’s Regional Director for Egypt, the Middle East and Africa Amr ElKady said the partnership will address both the environmental challenge of plastic waste, and the social challenges related to poverty and lack of job opportunities in Egypt.
He said the plastic waste is collected, sorted and processed, then integrated back into the recycling value chains as Social Plastic, which can be reintegrated into products and packaging as part of a closed-loop 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.
Omar Mohamed ElMasry General Manager, Laundry & Home Care, Henkel Egypt, said the plastic waste collection centres will create 1,000 jobs over a two-year period.
“Our primary goal is to establish a supply chain that will enable Henkel and Plastic Bank to initially collect around 3,000 tonnes of plastic waste and reach a collection capacity of 5,000 tonnes in 2023,” he said.
Ahmed Fahmy, VP Africa & Marketing MEA & President, Henkel Egypt said; “By 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, while securing foreign currency and providing job opportunities.”
He said the partnership with Plastic Bank will serve an array of sectors including plastic waste collection, transportation, processing, in addition to manufacturing recycling equipment.
(Reporting by Eman Hamed; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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