JEDDAH, 8 June 2008 — With a commitment to making a greener tomorrow, the corporate sector has set the ball rolling for tackling the problem of empty cartons and plastics thrown away after consuming their contents. The volume of post-consumer empty cartons and plastic containers is increasing and their recycling is of paramount importance to protect the environment. It is against this background that Tetra Pak Arabia, a world leader in food processing and packaging, and Middle East Paper Company (MEPCO) have entered into a deal.
“Tetra Pak Arabia has entered into a landmark agreement with MEPCO to recycle post-consumer food and beverage cartons in Saudi Arabia,” Tetra Pak Arabia’s Environment Manager Mohammed Angawi told a press conference at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry yesterday. “This announcement is part of the World Environment Day, which was celebrated globally on June 5,” he said.
The partnership will address the issue of recycling thousands of cartons that get discarded by households and other establishments across Saudi Arabia on a daily basis. “The agreement was signed after successful trials were conducted to demonstrate the recyclability of Tetra Pak cartons by MEPCO,” he added.
“We are excited about launching our recycling initiative, which is an industry first in the food and beverage carton segment, with the largest paper manufacturing company in the Middle East. With MEPCO as our partner, we are confident that we can facilitate recycling and also help promote environmental consciousness across the region. It gives Tetra Pak Arabia a great sense of pride to look after the community we operate in by bringing about a positive environmental change,” Angawi added.
“MEPCO strives to be an eco-friendly company committed to the principles of conservation and sustainability. We have partnered with Tetra Pak Arabia as they are serious about addressing the environmental issues within their industry and their imprint on the society. We are very pleased to announce this partnership and look forward to recycling the cartons and raising consumer awareness about environmental issues,” Abdullah Al-Moammar, managing director, MEPCO, said. “MEPCO will collect, sort and recycle cartons for use as raw material in manufacturing paper. Beverage carton recycling will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfill sites,” he added.
Recycling and sustainability are key business values to Tetra Pak worldwide and in the region.
The core product of Tetra Pak’s packaging is wood fiber that comes from sustainable managed forests, a renewable resource. The Jeddah factory of Tetra Pak Arabia is ISO 14001 certified and the entire factory waste is recycled regularly. Globally, the company recycles 21 billion cartons annually.
MEPCO, which claims to be one of the largest paper and board manufacturers using recycled raw materials in the Middle East at its plant in Jeddah Industrial City, produces nearly 340,000 tons of paper every year and also collects and recycles more than 379,000 tons of waste paper.
