MOU inked to conduct trials on recycled plastic bottles

Islamabad: PepsiCo and Novatex Limited signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct trials on recycled plastic bottles to assess them for future commercial production in the Pakistan market.

Both entities signed the MoU at the Pakistan pavilion of Expo 2020 in Dubai in the presence of the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam.

The MoU signing is an extension of the existing collaboration between PepsiCo and Novatex Limited whereby over 5,000 tons of plastics was collected and recycled. Going forward the companies will work together on significantly scaling up the collection of used plastic bottles in Pakistan and commercializing the use of bottles made from recycled plastics.

Earlier at the event, a dialogue was held to explore how the government and the private sector can partner to tackle the issues of climate change and collectively promote the ‘Clean Green Pakistan’ agenda. Speaking on the occasion, Malik Amin Aslam, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change commented, “This is really a remarkable feat by PepsiCo and Novatex Limited for complementing recycling efforts in Pakistan”.

Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs, PepsiCo Pakistan, Khurram Shah present at the signing ceremony remarked, “This is a meaningful step forward towards our vision of developing a circular economy for plastics. We are making every effort to develop scale solutions for recycling which can benefit the entire industry”.

Rizwan Diwan, Executive Director Novatex Limited shared the details of the collaboration during the event. He commented, “Novatex Limited has invested ahead of the curve by installing one of the largest PET recycling lines in the world integrated with rPET plant. Sustainability is our highest priority; we have taken multiple initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint; among others, our PET recycling plant will be running on solar power along with other energy sources. We are committed to developing innovative and scaled solutions to deal with plastic waste in Pakistan. This is a historic moment, and we foresee the commercial use of rPET very soon, to produce beverages bottles in Pakistan”.

Mr. Diwan added that Novatex rPET plant has also met FDA and EU requirements for the use of rPET in food grade packaging.