The Coca-Cola System in Nigeria, comprising of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and its authorised bottler, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), at the weekend announced the commissioning of a state-of-the-art Packaging Collection Hub located in Apapa, Lagos.
The facility, a landmark initiative in Nigeria’s plastics recycling infrastructure, has the capacity to process up to 13,000 metric tonnes (MT) of plastic bottles annually.
In addition to supporting the Coca-Cola System’s sustainability initiatives, the hub aims to serve as a comprehensive solution for plastic waste management.
It seeks to facilitate PET collection, process materials into clean PET bales, and enable PET production through third-party partnerships— helping contribute to cleaner communities and driving collective action to help reduce packaging waste. The vision is to scale the model once its success is demonstrated.
The Coca-Cola System’s investment underscores its global goal to help reduce packaging waste and emissions through: “using 35% to 40% recycled material in primary packaging (plastic, glass and aluminium), including increasing recycled plastic use to 30% to 35% globally, helping to ensure the collection of 70% to 75% of the equivalent number of bottles and cans introduced into the market by 2035”.
Over the past decade, the Coca-Cola System has contributed over $1.5 billion to Nigeria’s economic value chain, empowering communities, driving economic growth, and advancing sustainability.
Recently, the System announced plans to more than double its investment rate over the next five years, committing $1 billion to further these efforts.
The newly established Packaging Collection Hub reinforces the Coca-Cola System’s legacy of investment in Nigeria and supports its long-term objectives of expanding the network of recycling centres and producing food-grade recycled PET, thereby reducing dependence on imported virgin materials.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Governor of Lagos State, who was represented by the Special Adviser on Circular Economy, Mrs Titilayo Oshodi, while speaking during the commissioning, explained that the new facility is a symbol of progress and a tangible demonstration of the kind of Corporate Social Responsibility that was needed in Lagos.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) has demonstrated its commitment to doing business beyond profit and playing a broader role in society through this project.
“This hub will serve as a critical centre for collecting, sorting, and recycling PET plastics, which will significantly reduce plastic pollution in our environment,” he said.
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