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An award-winning company: YKK Lanka, Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka, Ceylon Biscuits Limited, John Keells Holdings, MAS Holdings and SEVANATHA Urban Resource Centre
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| BPPL Holdings Managing Director and CEO Dr. Anush Amarasinghe |
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| Head of PET Collections Priyankara Dissanayake
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Sri Lanka’s leader in plastic bottle recycling, Eco Spindles Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of BPPL Holdings PLC, launched its highly anticipated ‘Waste 2 Value’ app at a special launch event held at Hilton Colombo Residences.
Coinciding with Global Recycling Day, the launch of Waste 2 Value expects to encourage responsible plastic recycling among the general public, and further consolidate recyclable waste collection efforts within the country.
The app, now available on the Google Play Store for Android and App Store for iOS, is capable of locating around 300 plastic waste bins around the island, providing ease of access to anybody looking to dispose their plastic waste the right way, with assurance that what they dispose will be collected and recycled, and not wasted.
Commenting on the event, BPPL Holdings Managing Director and CEO Dr. Anush Amarasinghe said: “Over the past few years, with the help of our partners, we have been installing several collection bins all over the island. With Waste 2 Value, we aim to help people locate these bins more conveniently, so that they can dispose of their plastic waste properly. We are working towards raising awareness among the general public on proper plastic waste disposal, and this launch is a very innovative step in that direction.”
The launch event was graced by dignitaries in government and the waste management sector in Sri Lanka. At the launch, Eco Spindles reinforced their commitment to recycle every plastic bottle used to create value added products for the benefit of the Sri Lankan economy. The company also presented appreciation awards to their top corporate partners who supported in placing bins at convenient locations.
“Although we have an expansive network of bins placed around the island, a staggering 85% of our plastic waste is obtained through our collector network, with only 15% accounted for through these bins. Statistically, Sri Lanka imports around 1,600 metric-tonnes of virgin polyethylene terephthalate (PET) every month. Out of this, only 20% is recycled. The rest ends up either in the ocean, landfills or is burnt.
“Our goal is to educate all citizens on the drastic impacts of plastic pollution, and show that if we all do this together, there is great potential for environmental conservation, and a greener future for generations to come. Everyone can take advantage of this app and truly be a contributor to this cause,” he added.
By simply downloading the app onto a smartphone, Waste 2 Value will easily locate the nearest plastic waste bins with contact details. It also encourages users to responsibly dispose of their plastic waste with insightful tips, reminders and even a news tab to stay up-to-date on Eco-Spindles’ recycling efforts.
Eco Spindles plays a substantial role in influencing the collection of waste PET bottles, recycling and creating value-added products such as polyester yarn for apparel manufacturers and monofilaments for brush makers worldwide. During the year 2019/20, Eco Spindles had recycled over 81 million PET bottles, amounting to around 2.3 million kilograms of PET.
The company mainly sources its PET bottle waste through its 400-strong network of registered recyclable waste collectors and 19 baling sites, but is now in the process of encouraging the whole nation to discard their plastic waste in designated bins, which is made further convenient with the launch of Waste 2 Value. Furthermore, Eco Spindles is also actively involved in sustainability-focused public initiatives such as the Sri Pada and Kataragama Waste Management Project, the Coastal Plastic Recycling Project and the Expressway Projects, to name a few.
