The global population is predicted to reach 9.1 billion by 2050, representing an increase of over a third of today’s population, while food production is expected to grow by 70% to satisfy global demand. Packaging plays a major role in keeping food safe and available for the growing number of people across the globe. Tetra Pak® the world's leading food processing and packaging solutions company aims to increase its use of recycled materials in its packaging, contributing to a shift to renewable and recycled sources, while reducing the use of fossil-fuel based materials.
More recently, it has inaugurated a solution to recycle carton packages in Riyadh - the first of its kind in the Arab region. The initiative was made possible by an investment by Tetra Pak introducing state-of-the-art recycling equipment to the Kingdom. Similarly, the initiative was co-partnered with Obeikan Paper Industries (OPI) and Saudi Top Plastics (STP) and serves all the ambitions of the National Center for Waste Management (MWAN), as well as being in line with the sustainability ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030.
Tetra Pak aims to provide sustainable basic food packaging that ensures food safety and availability, while at the same time reducing the environmental impact on our planet. Its efforts are to ensure sustainability throughout the lifecycle. Tetra Pak continues to work in the Arabia area towards reducing the impact of packaging as part of its manufacturing and production strategy, implementing processes that reduce the impact on nature at the end of the service life of packages, and increasing recycling operations. Last year alone, Tetra Pak recycled 49 billion packs globally, which was an inspiration for the Arabia region.
On this initiative, Dr. Abdullah AlSebaei CEO at MWAN commented, "considering our nations' rapid industrialization, high population growth and fast urbanization, which has led to increased levels of waste, we are focusing more on sustainability in all its economic, environmental and social pillars, by adopting integrated solutions to manage waste and at the forefront is our mission to reduce, reuse and recycle waste as regulators of the sector - in line with the sustainability ambitions of Saudi Vision 2030. And with God’s we will work to exclude approximately 82% of all waste produced by incinerators by 2035. We see private sector initiatives like this partnership between Tetra Pak, OPI, and STP as key enablers to realizing our national sustainability goals."
Niels Hougaard, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Arabia Area, said, "In Saudi Arabia, we have formed the first-of-its-kind recycling partnership in the region with Obeikan Paper Industries (OPI) to recycle paper of collected post-consumer cartons. OPI has their own company-wide waste management and is ready to start working on programs that increase collection and contribute to a sustainable recycling value chain. We expect to recycle around 8,000 tons of waste per year, with the potential to increase capacity. In addition to that, a new recycling partnership with Saudi Top Plastics factory (STP), the leading plastic recycling plant in the region, was formed to recycle the remaining plastic and aluminum compound residue resulting from cartons recycling at OPI. STP brings 15 years of experience in its scope, carrying a capacity to recycle about 50 thousand tons of plastics annually. All these developments come together to ensure that our packages can be fully recycled."
Mr. Abdullah AlAjmi, Chairman of STP, said, "with this partnership, we at Saudi Top Plastics, the leading plastic recycling plant in the region, are proud to continue to deliver quality products to our customers and strategically develop lasting partnerships. With over 15 years’ experience in plastics recycling and the capacity to recycle upwards of 50 thousand tons of plastics annually, STP was the obvious choice of partner for this recycling initiative. Tetra Pak has supported us with technical, financial and marketing investments, and the initiative has opened doors for us and helped us expand our offerings and growth ambitions in the Middle East."
Mr. Khaled Khazaal, General Manager of OPI, said "we are delighted to be part of this partnership in a first-of-its-kind initiative to recycle used beverage cartons in Saudi Arabia. By facilitating the collection and recycling of juice and milk cartons, OPI is a main enabler to the success of this new recycling initiative. Notably, it is expected that OPI will achieve a recycling capacity of 8000 tons of used cartons annually."
Mr. Bassel Einashar, Manufacturing General Manager, Paper and Board Division, at OPI, added: "The initiative has been a great business opportunity, giving us the advantage of working with a new raw paper material. Most of the waste collection in Saudi Arabia is focused on old containers and corrugated cartons, but this partnership, and the new carton package recycling technology employed, allows us to make a real contribution to diverting cartons from landfills."
De-carbonization and environmental collaborations are critical to the sustainable transformation of the food packaging industry. Following its success in inaugurating initiatives globally towards sustainability and recycling, with more than 170 recyclers around the world, Tetra Pak is proud to announce that recycling operations have begun in KSA and can finally say that its products are made, consumed, and recycled in Saudi Arabia.
For more information, Please contact :
Qusai Mukhtar, Head of Communications, Tetra Pak Arabia Area
Phone : +966554447381
Email : Qusai.Mukhtar@tetrapak.com