Packaging firm in recycling deal for paper

Food packaging maker Tetra Pak has partnered with two recycling firms that will transform used packaging material into compressed paperboards.

The firm’s chief executive Jonathan Kinisu said they were collaborating with the firms to establish a waste paper collection plan where customers will drop the used Tetra Pak material into bins placed in selected retail stores.

“Ecotech and Ramani recyclers will receive the packaging materials that is a ready raw material for compressed paperboards to be used in making domestic and office furniture,” he said Tuesday.

If successful, the drive will partly ease pressure on the country’s forests, which have been decimated due to the rising demand for wood products due to a growing population.

Kenyan firms have increasingly shown awareness of the need to recycle materials used in packaging of goods, taking cue of the government’s efforts to conserve the environment by banning use of plastic bags in 2017. Recycling also helps producing firms cut their raw material costs, thus improving their margins.

Plastic bottle manufacturers have for instance teamed up to form an organisation called PET Recycling Company Ltd (PETCO) that coordinates the collection, sort and recycle plastic bottles. The firms give a fee that is used to fund activities of waste collection companies that channel the used plastic materials to recycling firms for use in making new products for domestic as well as industrial use.