By Juliet Umeh, edited by Prince Osuagwu

Nigerian Bottling Company, NBC has doled out N120 million to commission 10 newly-minted community recycling banks in Nigeria.

The banks are located in Lagos and Abuja which share five of the projects each. They are part of the effort towards reducing the amount of plastic wastes that end up in landfills, rivers and oceans.

Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director, NBC, Oluwasoromidayo George, said: “With these banks, we hope to further promote the habit of responsible consumption through source waste sorting, separation and collection for recycling by the general public.

“We recognise that transforming Nigeria, the continent and the world into one without waste, requires an all-hands-on-deck approach. With the support of our implementation partner, Chanja Datti Recycling, we envision that this community-led approach, will support and catalyse the development of waste management infrastructure within the nation. We envision that with this, we will significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills, keeping more packaging products from ending up in the soil, rivers and oceans.

“As we forge ahead with this mission, we encourage you to join hands with us in keeping the ecosystems safe for human health and society. We enjoin you to prioritise sustainable packaging and waste management as we have done; because a world without waste is possible, but it is not possible without you.

“We are a founding member of the Food & Beverage Industry Association Producers Responsibility Organisation, FBRA, whose mandate is to champion post-consumer packaging collection in line with our global commitment to collect one bottle for every bottle we put in the market by 2030.

“As an alliance, FBRA has made significant financial investment of over N2 billion that has enhanced the recovery of over 44 million kilograms of rigid plastics from the environment. “These recovered plastics indicates the injection of over 10 billion Naira into the plastic recycling value chain through recycler’s off take value therefore stimulating the recycling industry and creating the foundation for foreign investments.

 “These initiatives have been deeply rooted in our desire to sustain the creation of economic prosperity through the plastic recycling value chain and lead the way in driving awareness on the importance of waste separation for recycling”.

Also, Packaging Recovery Lead for NBC, Dr Idris Adetola, said: “Each of this project in each of our location is valued at 15 million, so the total value of the region is around N120 million.”