PepsiCo India announced its intent to support the implementation of extended producer responsibility for PET plastic waste bottles in Maharashtra. PepsiCo India’s President and CEO, Mr. Ahmed ElSheikh met the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur today to express the company’s commitment to support plastic waste management in the state.
The company has partnered with Gem Enviro to set up infrastructure for collection and recycling of PET plastic bottles in the state in line with the state’s plastic waste management rules.
Statement from Mr. Ahmed ElSheikh, President & CEO, PepsiCo India:
“As a responsible leader in the food and beverage industry, we are continually working to reduce the impact of our packaging on the environment and increase recycling of plastic waste. PepsiCo is committed to the government’s vision and focus on addressing the issue of plastic waste in a sustainable manner. We recognize the need and value of the Extended Producer Responsibility initiative of the government, and we are happy to support efforts in this direction.
The company pledge to work towards collection and recycling of the PET plastic waste generated in Maharashtra through our products. To this end, we are delighted to announce our partnership with Gem Enviro to enable the collection and recycling infrastructure for PET in the state. As part of this partnership, Gem will set up Reverse Vending Machines, collection points and collection centres for PET waste bottles at several locations across the state. The program will also ensure effective recycling of the PET waste collected.
In addition, through the Indian Beverage Association (IBA), we are also setting up a consortium for industry players to come together and work towards enhancing the plastic waste management infrastructure in the state.”
On PepsiCo’s initiatives to address plastic waste:
“Our Performance with Purpose 2025 goal is to design all packaging to be recoverable or recyclable, and support increased recycling of plastic waste. As part of this, we work with partners to support and leverage new technologies for sustainable packaging solutions. We will be piloting the first ever 100% compostable, plant-based packaging for our popular snacks products – Lay’s and Kurkure, this year. In addition, we have resized the packaging for our snacks master brands Lay’s and Kurkure, while also reducing paper consumption in the value chain. For our beverage business, we believe that non-returnable glass is an opportunity for the on-the-go consumption occasion. We launched Pepsi Black in non-returnable glass packaging, and we are planning to scale up this format.
PepsiCo has also been working with the government and other partners to enhance plastic waste management and to increase ‘recycling’ in the country. We worked closely with the Central Pollution Control Board to develop and successfully implement two pilot projects for collection, segregation, and recycling of post-consumer multi-layered packaging waste.
As part of our efforts to increase recycling, we have also successfully piloted a ‘Film to Fuel’ project at our Pune plant to convert all the packaging film waste from the plant, into fuel, ensuring 100% recycling of packaging waste at the plant.”
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