Lebanon could get a lot cleaner thanks to a brilliant plan devised jointly by Nestle Pure, Spinneys, and Servicorp.
That’s right. Nestle Pure, Spinneys, and Servicorp are planning to save Lebanon from the plastic waste that kills tens of thousands of Mediterranean creatures each year by introducing reverse vending machines to certain Spinneys locations throughout the country. Their initiative called “Protect Lebanon – Recycle Today” will allow users to return their empty plastic bottles and cans to the vending machines for a small return.
With nearly 200,000 employees, Nestle in particular is frequently criticized for promoting alternatives to breastmilk. Spinneys in the United Arab Emirates is known to stock endangered fish species, and I don’t have any juicy scoop on Servicorp. Suffice it to say that it was surprising to learn that these three businesses have devised a brilliant plan to energize Lebanon’s soporific recycling movement.Despite the tireless efforts among environmentalists, Lebanon really battles to manage its waste. Mostly this has to do with a lack of environmental education. Since a large percentage of the population doesn’t really understand how toxic plastic waste is to our environmental and physical health, recycling initiatives often go bust, and little intellectual infrastructure is in place to change that.
So Nestle, Servicorp and Spinneys came up with a plan. Before we worship their altruism, however, let’s pause to remember that Nestle Pure provides bottled and canned products to 86 different countries in the world, and that the company has the highest sales of all food processing corporations in the world.
Nonetheless, Nestle will give Spinneys what AME info calls “special incentives,” which they will pass on to consumers who deposit their cans and empty water bottles into the reverse vending machines that Servicorp will provide.
I’ve never seen a reverse vending machine but I think it’s a fanstastic idea. They can hold up to 600 cans and bottles and are able to distinguish between recyclable and non-recyclable materials. This indirectly teaches local Lebanese which materials should be recycled and which shouldn’t.
Servicorp will collect and ship the bottles and cans to the appropriate recycling facilities. Pilot machines will be installed at the Dbayeh and Achrafieh branches.
:: AMEinfo
More on recycling initiatives in the Middle East:
A UK Muslim Reflects on Recycling Potential for the Middle East
Recycling Tires can Rid Egypt of Fumes, Mosquitoes, and Rats
Lebanese Man Turns Garbage into Beautiful Glasses
image via Welcome to Oman
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
