Reverse vending machines (RVMs) will soon be encouraging Omanis to recycle plastic bottles, cans and batteries, according to Jeroen Vincent of the waste management firm Averda.
The company’s RVMs will be installed in schools in Muscat over the next two months, he told the Oman Observer in an interview published on 16 June.
“Many entities and individuals in Oman have embraced the idea of recycling as an essential habit,” he said.
“Our objective is to ensure that it becomes a community habit, by changing waste perceptions across the country.”
RVMs dispense prices in return for empty packaging, promoting recycling and environmental awareness.
Averda will be carrying out further “clean technology initiatives” in Oman, added Vincent.
He pointed out that the Middle East faces a looming waste crisis.
“By 2020, total annual solid waste production across the GCC is predicted to rise to a staggering 200 million tonnes,” he said.
Averda originated in Lebanon as Sukkar Engineering, which became a leading provider of processing machinery. The company moved to Saudi Arabia in 1970 and entered on waste management solutions. Last year Averda, which now has offices in Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, claims to have retrieved 1.2 million recyclables across the Middle East.
Meanwhile, a survey by Nielsen found that Middle East consumers are among the world’s keenest on socially and environmentally responsible products.
In the Middle East and Africa 62% of respondents said their sustainable purchases are most influenced by packaging.
We would like to place the same in our office.
Give us more details.
Regards
Ramit