Stakeholders commend NBC on plastic waste management initiatives

*Stakeholders applaud Nigerian Bottling Company Limited for leading efforts at ensuring the eradication of the menace of plastic waste, as the company re-affirms its commitment to achieving zero plastic waste in the country

Emmanuel Akosile | ConsumerConnect

For the company’s efforts at addressing the critical issues of concern in the consumer-packaged goods industry and the society at large, leading stakeholders in Nigeria’s manufacturing and waste management sectors have applauded the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC) for its innovative initiatives aimed at optimising plastic packaging and waste management in the country.

The NBC is a leading consumer packaged goods company and member of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC).

A statement by the Thursday, July 29, 2021, said the stakeholders while speaking during the annual NBC Stakeholders’ Forum Tuesday, July 27 titled, “Packaging & Waste Management: Key Drivers, Challenges & Solutions”, lauded the manufacturing firm for leading efforts at ensuring the eradication of the menace of plastic waste in the country.

Ola Oresanya, Special Adviser to the Ogun State Government on Environment and Keynote Speaker at the event, commended NBC for holding the forum, which he said would go a long way in entrenching the culture of internal self-regulation in tackling wastes in Nigeria.

Oresanya said: “I want to congratulate NBC on their consideration for the environment. In putting together this forum for open conversations around issues affecting the environment, NBC has demonstrated its commitment towards finding a solution to the issue of waste management in Nigeria.

“This is commendable because not many manufacturers have this kind of forum where the facts can be laid out.”

Mahmood Abubakar, Honourable Minister for Environment and Special Guest of Honour at the virtual session, represented by the Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Charles Ikeah, also echoed similar sentiments and commended the company for organising the Stakeholders Forum and for being at the forefront of the fight against environmental waste.

The Minister highlighted the Federal Government’s commitment to awareness creation, enforcement of relevant regulations, as well as provision of an enabling environment for private sector participation.

In his contribution, Ahmed Mansur, President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), urged other organisations, particularly in the manufacturing sector, to emulate NBC’s ambitious commitment to rid the environment of plastic wastes and prioritise the lifecycle of their packaging materials in their production processes.

Matthieu Seguin, Managing Director of NBC, at the virtual forum disclosed that the company would continue to collaborate with key stakeholders in the plastic packaging and waste management value-chain to ensure that challenges in the waste management ecosystem are converted to viable economic opportunities for Nigeria’s teeming population.

Seguin, who spoke on the economic significance and reusability of plastic bottles, said: “We believe every package has value and life beyond its initial use and that it should be collected and recycled into a new package”.

He further reiterated the company’s recycling sustainability policy thrust saying that “as manufacturers that use plastic packaging, we want to be part of the solution.

“The message here is clear: we want all our pet bottles back. Our goal is that we will recover 100% of our primary packaging and recycle 50% by 2030.”

Seguin, who is also the chairman of the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA), an industry coalition dedicated to building a sustainable recycling economy for food and beverage sector, also called for industry wide collaborations to ensure the sustainable management of plastic waste.

He further said: “We also recognise that we need to drive a larger, industry wide discussion, if we want to see the level of change in society that will make a difference in the environment and go a long way towards advancing our World Without Waste agenda, and shape the future of waste management in Nigeria.”

Commenting on its recycling strategy, David Drew, Sustainability Director for The Coca-Cola Company Africa, said the beverage giant plans to achieve a world without waste by ensuring recyclability of plastic bottles, reduction of plastic in secondary packaging, reduction of weight of bottles and building collection points for proper waste disposal and sorting.

Affirming the Lagos Waste Management Authority’s (LAWMA) contribution to environmental sustenance, Tunji Bello, Lagos State Honourable Commissioner for Environment, represented by Belinda Aderonke Odeneye, Permanent Secretary Ministry of the Environment, likewise commented on the importance of proper and continuous recycling of all recyclable waste as this will save society from filth and diseases.

Odeneye revealed that LAWMA has now moved the waste management war to the schools for inclusion.

“We have a manual for teachers to train students on how to sort waste in their schools and dispose them properly,” said she.

The Permanent Secretary stated urged collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure environmental sustainability is fully achieved in Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole.

Agharese Onaghise, Executive Secretary of Food and Beverage Recycle Alliance (FBRA), extolled the social responsiveness of NBC to societal cause, particularly in the environmental sustainability space and charged all stakeholders to take active part in the battle to mitigate plastic pollution in Nigeria.

Onaghise said: “This is a collective responsibility, a whole value-chain. FBRA is working with over ten collectors across Nigeria but, we need to do more, we need to work in all states in Nigeria.”

While pleading for more support from investors, she stated: “We need funding to do that, we need more members in the food and beverage sector and more organisations to join FBRA and expand the collection centres in each geo-political zone”.

The statement also noted that the event attracted prominent personalities drawn from various stakeholder groups, including officials of Federal and State ministries of Environment, industry leaders, regulators, NGOs, recycling agencies, customers, and consumers.

On the forum, the company said the annual NBC stakeholders’ forum is designed to address critical issues of concern to stakeholders in the consumer-packaged goods industry and the society.