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- Under the sponsorship of Makkah Municipality
Riyadh: The National Center for Waste Management (NCWM) and Makkah Municipality’s Hygiene Department started distributing 15 smart machines to collect and sort empty plastic bottles in Makkah, in cooperation with PepsiCo, the world’s leading food and beverage company and its bottling partner, Middle East and North Africa Beverages Manufacturing Co. (MENABEV).
The initiative aims to enhance the awareness on the importance of sorting from the source to preserve the environment , by encouraging the local society to put the empty plastic bottles into the containers. This step is also part of PepsiCo's efforts to enhance the concept of sustainable environment and apply best global practices to support the circular economy.
The campaign has been launched as a result of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), which was signed by PepsiCo and NCWM in July 2020 to raise awareness on the importance of environmental protection by using technological solutions to collect and sort plastic waste.
The MoU established a cooperation framework with one of the global companies in producing and operating smart containers that suit the geographical nature of Makkah. The smart, solar-powered containers work on sorting and separating the empty plastic bottles from the others to facilitate and accelerate the collection process for future use in other industries.
On this occasion, NCWM’s CEO Abdullah Faisal Al Sibaei has stated, “This initiative seeks to educate and raise awareness of the Saudi society on the importance of environmental protection by eliminating plastic waste in an ideal manner. The campaign aims to pilot technological solutions that can be used in the future to specifically deal with plastic waste during the Hajj season. This initiative has been launched, in alignment with the Saudi vison 2030, to protect and develop the holy sites’ environment.”
Abdullah Al Sibaei extended his thanks to PepsiCo for its efforts in launching this campaign, which reflects its keenness to enhance the concept of environmental sustainability.
Commenting on this initiative, Makkah Municipality’s Hygiene Department Director Mahmoud Sa’ati said, “Makkah Municipality is interested in using the artificial intelligence technology to sort and collect the waste from the source. This step has positive effects in raising the awareness, reducing the sorting process and speeding up waste transportation and disposal to factories for treatment and recycling.”
“We hope that this initiative helps to urge the private sector to activate its social contribution to create sustainable solutions in solving environmental challenges,” he added.
Nadim Nakfour, Managing Director of the Middle East and North Africa Beverages Manufacturing Co. (MENABEV), has welcomed this step, which reflects PepsiCo and MENABEV’s commitment to enhance environmental sustainability and support the circular economy in the Kingdom by working with all partners, in the public and private sector, to launch campaigns that reduce plastic waste.
"This campaign depends on innovative solutions to protect the environment, through the use of smart solar-powered containers to sort plastic packaging. This approach supports sustainable projects in Saudi Arabia, in alignment with the Saudi Vision 2030,” Nakfour added.
PepsiCo had launched several environmental activities through Aquafina, the official partner of a number of sport events hosted by the Kingdom, such as ABB - FIA Formula E 2019 in Diriyah and the Dakar Rally 2020 in Saudi Arabia.
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About National Center for Waste Management (NCWM)
The National Center for Waste Management was established according to Cabinet Resolution No. 457 dated 11/8/1440 AH. The Center aims to regulate and supervise waste management activities, stimulate investment in it, and improve its quality based on the principle of circular economy in waste management to achieve sustainable development goals. National Centre for Waste Management will implement the National Sustainable Waste Management Strategy to achieve the 2035 target of excluding waste (all types of waste are no longer radioactive) from the 82% target.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $70 billion in net revenue in 2020, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker, and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. "Winning with Purpose" reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of the business. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.
© Press Release 2021
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