October 28: Coca-Cola has announced the expansion of its PET bottle recovery project in Nepal in line with its strategic focus on recycling and waste management. As part of this initiative, the Coca-Cola Foundation and Bottlers Nepal Limited will set up a new PET collection center near the manufacturing plant in Bharatpur, Chitwan.

Coca-Cola plans to invest approximately USD 270,000 in the project to provide momentum to its existing PET waste recovery efforts in Nepal, the company said in a statement. In partnership with Creasion, the project aims to collaborate with the local municipality, business establishments, citizens and waste pickers to emulate a multi-stakeholder approach towards finding a solution to recycle PET waste in Nepal.

Speaking on the initiative, John Murphy, president of Asia Pacific Region at the Coca-Cola Company stated, “It gives us immense pleasure to extend our commitment to the World Without Waste initiative in Nepal. This project is another step towards the company’s larger strategy to grow with conscience and become a total beverage company that grows the right way. We will continue to work with our partners to strengthen our recycling and waste management efforts.”

The Coca-Cola Company’s recycling initiatives are part of the company’s commitment towards helping create a “World Without Waste” (WWW), which according to the company is its global goal to help collect and recycle the equivalent of 100 percent of its packaging by the year 2030.

As part of its commitment towards environmental protection and societal well-being, Coca-Cola is committed to achieving significant volumes of PET recycling in Nepal by focusing on PET recovery and recycling. The beverage company commenced its recycling approach in 2014 with the establishment of a multi-partnership project named ‘Nagar Mitra’, a social enterprise, leading to the creation of a substantial number of green jobs for disadvantaged women, and contributing to a cleaner environment through an efficient and responsible mechanism for collection and disposal of used PET bottles.

Additionally, Coca-Cola said the company is actively involved in activities including raising awareness on recycling and exploring opportunities for a closed loop recycling solution in Nepal in collaboration with its sustainability partners including WWF Nepal, Himalayan Climate Initiative and GIZ.