PepsiCo on Wednesday expressed its commitment to support the plastic ban enforced in Maharashtra, India, including the extended producer responsibility for PET plastic waste bottles, a top company official said.
PepsiCo India President and CEO Ahmed ElSheikh met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis here and said it has partnered with Gem Enviro Management for setting up infrastructure to collect and recycle the PET plastic bottles in the state.
Pledging to collect and recycle all the PET plastic bottles generated through PepsiCo’s beverages, he said that Gem Enviro will set up Reverse Vending Machines, collection points and centres at various locations in Maharashtra.
“The programme will also ensure effective recycling of the PET waste collected. In addition, through the Indian Beverage Association, we are also setting up a consortium for industry players to come together and work towards enhancing the plastic waste management infrastructure in the state,” ElSheikh announced.
He added that the company plans to design all packaging to be recoverable or recyclable by 2025 for which it is working on new technologies for sustainable packaging solutions.
“We will be piloting the first ever 100 per cent compostable, plant-based packaging for our popular snacks products – Lay’s and Kurkure – this year, and have resized these snacks packaging to reduce paper consumption in the value chain,” ElSheikh said.
For the beverages business, the company has launched Pepsi Black in non-returnable glass packaging and will collaborate with Central Pollution Control Board for two pilot projects for multi-layered packaging waste management.
“As part of our efforts to increase recycling, we have also successfully piloted a ‘Film to Fuel’ project at our Pune plant to convert all the packaging film waste from the plant, into fuel, ensuring 100 percent recycling of packaging waste at the plant,” said ElSheikh.