Nestlé Ivory Coast will take part in the “Tous pour une gestion responsable des déchets plastiques” Project. On February 11th, 2021, the subsidiary of the Swiss group Nestlé, which specialises in food processing, signed a partnership with two local institutions, namely the Ivorian Anti-Pollution Centre (Ciapol) and the Directorate of Green Economy and Corporate Social Responsibility of Organisations (Devrso).
The aim of this alliance is to promote “the responsible use and recycling of plastic waste as a means of sustainable environmental protection”. To achieve this goal, Nestlé Ivory Coast and the Ivorian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, through Ciapol and Devrso, will set up pilot plastic waste collection and recovery systems, evaluate these systems and analyse the relevance and viability of the economic models of these systems.
Complementary action
“The framework agreement strengthens the foundations of the public-private partnership (PPP) initiated by Côte d’Ivoire in waste management,” says Joseph Séka Séka, the Ivorian Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development. By strengthening its partnership with Ivory Coast, Nestlé wants to assume greater responsibility and reduce its environmental impact for sustainable development. “We are determined to produce differently by introducing an ecological requirement at all levels, from the design of our products and their packaging. Our goal is to make 100% of this packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025,” says Thomas Caso, Managing Director of Nestlé Ivory Coast.
According to the same source, Abidjan produces an average of 288 tonnes of plastic waste, 95% of which ends up in pipes and the lagoon. This waste, most of it plastic, causes pollution and flooding. Nestlé Ivory Coast supports other initiatives, such as the project “J’aime Cocody, loin de ma lagune les déchets plastiques” implemented in the Abidjan municipality of Cocody or the project “ma commune sans déchets plastiques” in Abobo, a municipality in the district of Abidjan.
Inès Magoum