Under the patronage of the Ministry of Environment, Nestlé, Diageo, and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), have partnered to launch the Jordan Bottle Recovery project, managed by Development Inc. International.
The launch of the project was announced in a press conference, held this month at the Four Seasons Hotel – Amman, attended by The Secretary-General at Ministry of Environment, H.E. Dr. Mohammed Khashashneh, Dr. Erfan Ali Regional Director of UN-Habitat Regional Office for Arab States, Mazen Al Kayyali Business Executive Officer at Nestlé Waters Jordan, Robert Haddad Director of Marketing, Yousef M. Haddad Co. & Partners (Diageo distributors and partners in Jordan), and Mohamed Daoud – CEO and Founder of Development Inc.
The project aims to increase collection and recycling of packaging, resulting from the tourism and out of home sector. A combination of collection channels will be used supported by digital tools and systems. To support packaging collection at source the project is placing dedicated plastic and glass collection bins to more than 250 hotels and restaurants. Reverse Vending Machines will also be placed in prime locations in Amman for consumers to dispose of used plastic bottles, and a reward system is created to motivate the act of recycling.
Commenting on the launch, Business Executive Officer of Nestlé Waters Jordon, Mazen Al Kayyali said, “At Nestlé we believe that there is an urgent need to minimise the impact of packaging on the environment. We understand this requires systemic changes and collective collaborative efforts. Nestlé Pure Life is embarking on this voluntary journey, and we extend a call to action for all actors to collaborate with us to tackle plastic pollution in Jordan.”
From his side, Director of Marketing, Diageo distributors and partners in Jordan said, “We are proud to have partnered with Nestlé to capitalise on its efforts to increase plastic collection and drive change towards the Circular Economy since we both share the same ambition. It comes with great pleasure to announce the launch of this prominent project supported by the Ministry of Environment, working hand in hand to create a better future for our planet.”
On this occasion, Dr. Erfan Ali, The Regional Director of UN-Habitat Regional Office for Arab States added, “The Jordan Bottle Recovery Project contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular the eleventh goal of making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The project also contributes to the realization of the New Urban Agenda and UN-Habitat’s Strategic Plan 2020-2025.”
The project will use a digital framework to ensure traceability across the value chain. A technology based tractability framework is put in place to ensure control of the operations, accuracy, and transparency of the collected quantities and end life, with an aim to create “Bottle to Bottle” mechanism.
The Jordan Bottle Recovery project is aligned with Nestlé’s global commitment is to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or re-usable by 2025. Its vision is that none of its packaging, including plastics, ends up in landfill or as litter. Nestlé is working to make recycling easier, by supporting infrastructure improvements. Nestlé is initiating this voluntary bottle collection program in Jordan to support the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program launched by the Ministry of Environment and provide concrete data to shape the type of EPR model which will be adopted in Jordan.
Diageo is committed to invest in renewable energy and improve energy efficiency, whilst actively engaging with suppliers and partners to reduce indirect carbon emissions. While it focuses on packaging, logistics and other resources within their supply chain with the goal to achieve net zero by 2050 or earlier, Diageo has set bold targets to reduce emissions by 100% from sites and energy use by 2030, moreover, it also set targets to reduce their suppliers emissions by 50% by 2030 and to net Zero by 2050 or sooner.
Plan Zero
The Jordan Bottle recovery project is part of Plan Zero which is a regional alliance established in an effort to limit the environmental impact of plastic and glass waste in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In July 2021, UN-Habitat signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nestlé, Diageo, Development Inc. and others to jointly promote sustainable waste management and responsible production and consumption within the private sector and general public.
‘Plan Zero’ works to reduce carbon footprint in the targeted countries by diverting packaging waste from landfills, water bodies and the environment, through retrieving recyclables and non-recyclable plastic, fiber, glass and metal packaging materials. This initiative will not only keep cities cleaner, but create job opportunities, and enhance public spaces through the installation of various recycled public furniture.