PepsiCo expands recycling and collection initiatives in the Middle East

PepsiCo has reiterated Aquafina’s recycling commitment to support the UAE’s goal to divert 75 per cent of total waste from landfill in 2022.

Marking Global Recycling Day, the company shared the highlights of recycling efforts held in collaboration with its partners in the UAE, stating more plastic was recycled than the original goal for 2021.

Last year, the company had committed to collect and recycle the equivalent of 100 per cent of Aquafina plastic packaging produced in the UAE in 2021, with the help of its local partners, Dulsco and Bee’ah. PepsiCo announced it had succeeded in exceeding this target. Recycling awareness sessions and new opportunities to collect bottles from sports complexes, as well as expanded collection zones across more emirates were factors that played a great role in supporting this achievement.

Wael Ismail, vice president Corporate Affairs, Middle East and Pakistan, PepsiCo: “Every new recycling milestone is a reminder that we can drive change towards a circular economy and a world where plastic does not need to become waste. By reducing, recycling and reinventing the way we look at packaging, the way we treat our waste, and the way we adapt our lifestyles, everyone can be part of this positive cycle.”

In 2021, #PepsiCo committed to collect & recycle the equivalent of 100% of #Aquafina plastic packaging produced in #UAE. With the help of our partners @beeahgroup & @dulsco, we have succeeded in exceeding this target! #PepsiCoArabia #PepsiCoPositive #GlobalRecyclingDay pic.twitter.com/l1v9cd4KjP

— @PepsiCoArabia (@PepsiCoArabia) March 17, 2022

Supporting recycling across MENA

To enable optimal recycling rates across the MENA region, PepsiCo has concentrated on three approaches: mass collection initiatives in partnership with large third-party companies across various markets, targeted collection drives aimed at specific types of consumers or locations, such as residential compounds, malls or sports complexes, and finally, educational efforts to raise awareness of the problem and its solution (collection and recycling).

In Saudi Arabia, the company and its bottling partners – Abdulhadi Abdullah Al-Qahtani & Sons, MenaBev, and Al Jomaih Bottling Plants – collaborated with mass waste collector, WASCO, to increase the amount of plastic they collect on a yearly basis through their facilities and networks.

With Naqaa waste management company, it focused on working to divert plastic away from landfills at big events like Formula E and Riyadh Marathon, and across 16 communities in Saudi Arabia, including Al Diriyah, Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar and Abha, with key infrastructure placed to enable better segregation of waste.

With Nadeera Technologies in Lebanon, PepsiCo is putting a value on waste by incentivising consumers to segregate their waste and start seeing the economic value of their recyclables, which they can exchange for grocery store credit.

PepsiCo has also partnered with The Orenda Tribe, a social enterprise that uses art and storytelling to champion youth and empower communities, to create innovative tools that educate children about recycling and sustainability.

Building a circular economy

Through PepsiCo Positive (pep+), the company is supporting the creation of a circular and inclusive value chain to meet aggressive sustainability goals, including net-zero emissions by 2040 and designing 100 per cent of packaging to be recyclable, compostable, biodegradable or reusable by 2025.

According to the company, improving regional collection rates helps to increase the supply of recycled plastic, which will in turn drive the circular economy market in a cost-effective manner.