Coca-Cola to Pump Sh3.8B Towards Kenya’s Plastic Recycling Industries

Kenya is set to benefit from a 3.8-billion-shilling funding from Coca-Cola to boost plastic recycling industries and creation of awareness on plastic waste pollution.

Through the funding, Coca-Cola will speed up the collection and recycling of PET plastic bottles in Southern, East and Central Africa in the next three years addressing the implementation of its global World Without Waste vision, aimed to collect and recycle close to 100 per cent of the packaging it sells by 2030.

Ahmed Rady, General Manager, Coca-Cola East & Central Africa Franchisesaid that the company had formulated strategies to ensure that their post-consumer plastic bottles do not pollute the environment as wastes.

“We are creating value from our bottles in a bid to drive and sustain a green economy,” said Ahmed Rady.

Last year, Coca-cola and its bottling partners together with other industry partners formed PET recycling company Limited in Kenya to lead initiatives that will collect and recycle PET bottles and packaging creating a conducive environment to invest and add capital under the PET sector in production and recycling.

The plan is now to expand the group’s PET Recycling Co (PETCO) initiative beyond South Africa and Kenya targeting to recycle 20,000 tonnes of PET bottles and passing the model to Ethiopia and Uganda.

“This is part of a focused World Without Waste campaign over three years and beyond. We have formulated strategies to ensure that our post-consumer plastic bottles do not pollute the environment as wastes. We are creating value from our bottles in a bid to drive and sustain a green economy,” Rady added.

Coca-cola equally plans to introduce a bottle under Bonaqua brand using 100 percent recycled PET.