Published On: September 22, 20202.4 min read473 words

The Producer Responsibility Organisation for the Food and Beverage sector in line with the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) partnered with Green Janitors Sustainable Initiative, RecyclEdge, the Junior Chambers International (JCI), University of Ibadan and Kids Beach Clean-Up.

The Alliance in partnership with these NGOs cleaned up four (4) communities namely Badagry, Ojo, and Bonny Camp in Lagos and also at Agbowo in Ibadan respectively and were able to remove over 2,000kg of plastic waste from the environment on the 19th of September, 2020.

FBRA Commemorates World Clean-up Day 2020; Partner with 3 NGOs to Clean 4 Communities Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the Alliance, Onaghise Agharese explained that the initiative is aimed at educating the people on proper waste management among communities as part of FBRA’s initiative in engaging with consumers on the value of waste packaging material through recycling to prevent pollution and climate change issues.

She also noted that these efforts need to be sustained over time to create a healthier and cleaner environment as part of our collective responsibility to sustainable development goals.

According to her, the Alliance is committed to creating awareness and supporting communities to recycle their post-consumer packaging materials.

The exercise was carried out in partnership with volunteers across the various communities, the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), National Environmental Standards and Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Geocycle (Lafarge) and Community Development Association.

On the partnership with the various NGOs, Onaghise said it was an opportunity to advance the project of responsible disposal of waste and a new national culture of responsible handling of post-consumer packaging waste for a sustainable environment which the Alliance is focused on.

While attesting to FBRA’s commitment, Doyinsola Ogunye, the initiator of the Kids Beach Clean-Up programme at Bonny Camp, shared her excitement at the partnership and noted that it was a bold step to Clean-Up our waterways and the environment at large.

On his part, Abdulsalam Ashade, the initiator of Green Janitors Sustainable Initiative, appreciated the FBRA who has always shown the passion and shared concern for a sustainable environment; while Okunola Oluwatobi Victor of the Recycledge on his part noted that the continued fight against plastic pollution is nonstop. “We will ensure to do our part in the grand goal of environmental sustainability,” Victor affirmed.

Recall that the Alliance which was set up in March 2018 had enlightened traders and cleaned up Arena market in Oshodi in 2018 and in 2019 partnered with TrashUsers to Clean-Up Agege during the World Clean-Up day activities.

The Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA) is made up of thirteen (13) forward-thinking companies in the sector which includes Nigeria Bottling Company/Coca-Cola, Nestle Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Seven-Up Bottling Company, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Intercontinental Distillers Limited, International Breweries Limited, Tulip Cocoa, Prima Caps and Preforms, Tetrapak West Africa, DOW Chemicals, the LaCasera Company Limited and Engee PET Manufacturing Company.