Unilever Announces Launch of 100% Recyclable Plastic Packaging in East Africa

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Unilever announced launch of 100% recyclable plastic packaging for the first time in East Africa. The announcement was made in Nairobi, Kenya. The initiative will help in reduction of thousands of tones of virgin plastics in Africa.

The company’s ‘Sunlight” cleaning product will come in fully recyclable packaging. The packaging used for half-a-kilogram and one kilogram of the product will be made from 100% recycled flexible materials. Henceforth, the “Sunlight” products will be marketed in new packaging in Kenya and other East-African regions.

The initiative is part of the “U-turn waste management project” launched in 2008, in partnership with Green Africa Trading. It aims to create a sustainable, inclusive, traceable and fair circular economy for plastics in emerging markets such as Kenya. As part of the initiative, Unilever targets reduction in use of plastic packaging by more than 100,000 tonnes by 2025. Also, it aims to use at least one-fourth of its packaging to be made of recycled plastic.

As per government estimates, the City of Nairobi generates nearly 2,500 tonnes of waste per day. Of this only 60% is collected, whereas only 10% gets recycled. It must be noted that Unilever’s “Zero Waste to Landfill” project had resulted in significant waste disposal in the city.

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