The news is welcomed by the authorities of Tunisia. Between 2023 and 2026, the Tunisian company Soti Papier, specializing in waste recycling will benefit from the expertise of the Swedish-Swiss firm Tetra Pak for the recovery of 9,000 tons of plastic waste. The agreement was signed recently in the factory of Soti Papier, located in Belli near the governorate of Nabeul where people will experience the biodegradable food packaging.
“This initiative will promote environmental sustainability. To do this, we make specific investments with local actors, we provide technical expertise and we share the experience gained globally with partners to create sustainable recycling value chains, “says Laurent Rodier, the general manager of Tetra Pak Maghreb.
For his part, the general manager of Soti Papier said that this partnership was part of the “Soti Papier s’engage” program, which will allow the company to conquer the African market for environmentally friendly bags for household food shopping. “The packaging that will be recycled will ultimately produce kraft paper thanks to the high quality cardboard fiber it contains. The rest of the material will be transformed into granules to make other finished products,” explains Philippe Lacoste.
Sustainable urban waste management
Faced with the economic crisis that Tunisia is experiencing coupled with global warming, the partnership between Soti Papier and Tetra Pak sounds like a call for resilience. Indeed, the North African country is overwhelmed by the 2.6 million tons of waste generated annually by its 12 million inhabitants, especially in urban areas. To remedy this, solutions are implemented at the local level.
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This is the case in particular in the northern city of Bizerte where the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the German international development cooperation agency, has financed the construction of a solid waste management center which should open in April 2023. The facility will strengthen the collection of household and industrial waste in order to improve the living environment of about 140,000 people.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi