Coca-Cola System’s Role in Pioneering Waste Management in Nigeria

Ugo Aliogo writes on how the introduction of PET packaging has boosted energy efficiency and water conservation for manufacturers and Coca-Cola System’s commitment to minimize the environmental impact of its packaging as part of its vision of a World Without Waste.

January 2008 marks a watershed in the evolution of PET packaging in Nigeria. Barely a month earlier, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) had directed all soft drinks manufacturers in the country to adopt the use of plastic bottles. A line was drawn in the sand.

Its Director-General at the time, the late Dr. Dora Akunyili, had vowed to bring the hammer down on defaulters, beginning from January 2, 2008. The regulatory agency had cited the presence of extraneous materials and mounting consumer complaint as major factors necessitating the new directive.

The introduction of PET packaging has not only boosted energy efficiency and water conservation for manufacturers, but more importantly, it has significantly reduced incessant consumer complaints associated with Refillable Glass Bottles (RGB). This is a development to cheer about.

But PET, like every other innovation, has equally been punctuated by its fair share of spurts. Despite its apparent convenience, the simplicity of its logistics and its on-the-go appeal for consumers, its impact on the environment remains a global challenge that requires urgent attention.

An estimated 300 million tonnes of plastic waste is generated every year, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. Nigeria generates more than 32 million metric tonnes of waste annually with Lagos alone accounting for about 10,000 daily metric tonnes. Most of this waste end up in landfills and in waterways, further exacerbating health challenges and environmental hazards.

To address the menace, corporate organizations like the Coca-Cola System have challenged themselves to do more—to be leaders in making sustainable business practices fundamental to how they operate in Nigeria.

A Country’s First Recycling Model is born in 2005, the Coca-Cola System, comprising Nigerian Bottling Company and Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, led the first major efforts to address the problem head on. Leveraging its partnership with Alkem, a synthetic fiber manufacturer, the Coca-Cola System introduced the PET collection and buy-back scheme and launched the first PET collection and sorting centres in the country. With investment running into hundreds of millions in Naira at the time, the PET collected, irrespective of source or brand, were recycled into synthetic fibre used as raw materials in local industries.

The partnership between Alkem and the Coca-Cola System lasted for about eight years and deepened Nigeria’s bottles-to-fiber recycling operation and set the stage for active corporate participation in waste recycling.

Renowned for its penchant for self-regulation, the Coca-Cola System has continued to raise the tempo, making waste recycling a strategic imperative in the nation’s manufacturing sector. Few years ago, it announced a bold, ambitious goal: to help collect 100% of its primary packaging materials and recycle 50% by 2030.

Regardless of where it comes from, the System has committed to minimize the environmental impact of its packaging at every stage of its lifecycle, as part of its vision of a World Without Waste. For the past seven decades in Nigeria, the System has championed this initiative, leveraging its 3Rs principle: Reduce, Recover, Reuse – to increase the use of recycled or renewable content and implementing light-weighting techniques.

Recover – The System ensures that all its primary and secondary packaging materials are fully recyclable. Riding the crest of its partnership with Alkem, the System successfully collected and recycled nearly 26,000 metric tonnes in the project cycle, while empowering hundreds of people in the communities, especially women. The project led to the creation of more than 26 collection centers across 10 cities in the country. Additionally, in the last quarter of 2020, in line with its goal to use more recycled and renewable materials, the System launched the Sprite clear bottles which are 100% recyclable. This will improve the Bottle-to-Bottle Recycling as clear PET is more flexible to recycle.

Reuse – Across the globe, a chunk of the world’s finite resources ends up as waste, posing a challenge to the ecosystem and the future of our planet. The proliferation of single-use plastics in the global manufacturing value chain has further aggravated the problem.

As of 2016, a chunk of the System’s beverages was sold in its refillable glass bottle, which is fully recovered from trade for reuse. But changing consumer preferences and the flexibility that comes with PET have seen glass packaging reduce significantly. The System is leveraging its strong sustainability credentials to address the challenges associated with the post-consumer waste through aggressive recycling partnerships, product innovations, buy-back schemes, process re-engineering, community education, amongst others.

In addition, its three main beverage packs (returnable glass bottles, PET bottles and beverage cans) have been lightweighted by as much as 16% to conserve materials and reduce packaging waste volume.

Reduce – The System also reduced the weight of its glass bottle from 380g to 290g for Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and Schweppes Bitter Lemon and PET bottle weight by 2g and reduction of shrink film thickness by 3 microns. The result of this is a reduced carbon footprint on our environment. The lightweighting of its Returnable Glass Bottle began in 2008 when it launched its Ultra Glass Bottle, an initiative with huge capital outlay but designed to reduce the Company’s impact on the environment.

“We firmly believe a world without waste is possible. By investing in our planet and our packaging through our World Without Waste programme, we can help tackle this global challenge. We’re doing our part to help lead the way wherever we can” said Mathieu Seguin, Managing Director, Nigerian Bottling Company. An organization like the Coca-Cola System is expected to generate large volumes of waste; however, its World Without Waste initiative shines through and provides a blueprint for similar companies to provide products that are not only tastier and healthier but that also are better for the environment along their entire value chain.

Driving Results through Collective Action

The plastic waste crisis is far too big for any single government, company or industry to solve individually. The Coca-Cola System recognizes that an all-hands-on-deck approach, led by players across the plastic packaging value chain, is needed to drive solutions at scale. Delivering the World Without Waste objectives requires forward thinking and solutions from sharp minds around the globe—including industry peers, the public sector and civil society—that see both the big picture and the small, iterative steps needed to get there. This is why the System has continuously driven collective action by working with stakeholders, suppliers, non-profits, communities, customers, and industry peers to invest in waste management innovation, facilities, organizations, and initiatives.

In 2018, the System successfully led the Coalition of an Industry group known as the Food and Beverage Recycling alliance (FBRA), an industry partnership between Coca Cola, the Nigerian Bottling Company, Nestle Plc, 7up Bottling Company and Nigerian Breweries plc, to build a sustainable recycling economy for food and beverage packaging waste.

Under the Umbrella of FBRA, the Coca-Cola System alongside other members are promoting recycling in Nigeria through; Advocacy engagements with Stakeholders which include NESREA, SON and State Ministry of Environments; Implementation of market and Beach Clean-up exercise in most vulnerable locations; Partnership with Delta State to provide the first recycling hub. In addition, the FBRA is working with the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) to address waterways plastic pollution and donated 6 boats to LASWA in demonstration of its commitment to rid our environment of plastic waste. The FBRA has currently collected over 13,366 metric tonnes of post-consumer PET off the environment since its inception in 2018. Currently, it is building an Aggregation Hub in Ibeju-Lekki with a capacity of 3,600 metric tonnes to facilitate collection, sorting and recycling. These are prime examples of harnessing partnerships to drive solutions at scale.

Knowledge Building – Harnessing the Power of Communities

The Coke System is also leading efforts to stimulate public understanding and community participation in waste recycling programs. This has witnessed critical investments in capacity development, capital incentives and financial support for recyclers. Earlier in March, the System awarded N303 million in grants to 8 local NGOs through its philanthropic arm, The Coca-Cola Foundation.

“Making our bottles and cans recyclable is only part of the answer. If something can be recycled, it should be recycled, and helping our communities understand how to do their part through knowledge building is critical”, said Alfred Olajide, Managing Director, Coca-Cola Nigeria.

In 2020, the Coca-Cola System set up 7 Recycling Banks in Lagos and Abuja to bring recycling closer to communities and many more are coming on stream. It is expected that each of the recycling banks will recover 300 tons per annum, notwithstanding thousands of waste pickers and sorters will be empowered through this initiative.

The System, through Project Revive launched in 2020, has created 660 green jobs, expanded opportunities for 886 recyclers and recovered 179.34 tons of wastes. Other major projects include Recycles Pay, which supported disadvantaged parents to turn in wastes in exchange for their children’s school fees.

Aside a retinue of grants provided for many NGOs to strengthen environmental sustainability in Nigeria, the System is also working with governments and allied agencies, including the recent partnership with the Statewide Waste and Environmental Education Project (SWEEP) Foundation to rid Lagos of wastes through the ‘Waste in the City’ initiative.

Every year, the System mobilizes individuals, including its employees, to volunteer in Beach and Community cleaning programs leveraging on relevant commemorative days. Also, education programmes on recycling in schools and communities such as Badagry, Oshodi, Lekki and more have been carried out. Through FBRA, the System has launched community recycling programme, partnering with communities and the industry – to clean up existing packaging, community buy back schemes and other ongoing local activities.

An outlook to the future

The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on industries the world over, and while the initial focus is to emerge from the crisis stronger, the Coca-Cola System is focusing on its World Without Waste agenda as a critical element of its future growth.
By the end of this year, the system plans to deliver additional 20 recycling banks in Lagos, and Abuja. These are part of larger efforts to give back to communities on the occasion of its 70th anniversary. “We are doing this because we want to be part of the plastic waste solution,” said Matthieu Seguin, Managing Director of NBC, at a recent briefing to unveil activities for the anniversary.

“A sustainable world is central to our future growth and accelerating our World Without Waste agenda is key to that future. We are passionate about promoting sustainable design for all our packaging material created from 50% recycled material by 2030,” Matthieu said.

That commitment, according to Matthieu, is relentless, and would continue to be so, particularly in a world where environmental challenges seem to be closing a firm grip around our throats. Last week, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCHBC), the parent company of the Nigerian Bottling Company, announced its global commitment to achieving net zero emissions across its entire value chain by 2040. Launched across 28 markets by the leading bottlers of the Coca-Cola brands, its Nigerian operations would play a leading role in driving these key targets.

“If we are to go on living together on this earth,” wrote Koffi Annan, “we must all be responsible for it. All of us have to share the Earth’s fragile ecosystems and precious resources, and each of us has a role to play in preserving them.”

In its 70 years of operating in Nigeria, the Coca-Cola System has shown us that we can rewrite the history of our planet by being more responsible; by working together to making sustainable decisions that prioritize the future. At the heart of its storied heritage lies a philosophy that the bottom-line is not only about business outcomes. It has to reflect tangible, sustainable impact on the people and the planet.