Jordan Bottle Recovery project launched

AMMAN — With the support of the Ministry of Environment, Nestlé, Diageo and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) have partnered to launch the Jordan Bottle Recovery project, managed by Development Inc. International. 

The launch of the project was announced during a press conference held in Amman on Wednesday,  according to a statement from Nestlé.

Secretary General at the  Ministry of Environment, Mohammed Khashashneh,  Regional Director of UN-Habitat Regional Office for Arab States Erfan Ali, Business Executive Officer at Nestlé Waters Jordan Mazen Al Kayyal, Director of Marketing Robert Haddad, Yousef M. Haddad Co. & Partners (Diageo distributors and partners in Jordan), and CEO and Founder of Development Inc Mohamed Daoud attended the press conference.

The project aims to increase the collection and recycling of packaging that results from the tourism and out of home sectors. 

A combination of collection channels supported by digital tools and systems will be used in the project.  To support packaging collection at source, the project is placing dedicated plastic and glass collection bins at more than 250 hotels and restaurants. Reverse Vending Machines will also be placed in prime locations in Amman for consumers to dispose of used plastic bottles, and a reward system will be created to motivate the act of recycling, the statement said.

The project will use a digital framework to ensure traceability across the value chain. A technology-based tractability framework has been put in place to ensure control of the operations, accuracy, and transparency of the collected quantities, with the goal of creating a “Bottle to Bottle” mechanism. 

The Jordan Bottle recovery project is part of Plan Zero, a regional alliance established to limit the environmental impact of plastic and glass waste in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

In July 2021, UN-Habitat signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nestlé, Diageo, Development Inc. and others to jointly promote sustainable waste management and responsible production and consumption both within the private sector and among the general public. 

“Plan Zero” works to reduce the carbon footprint in targeted countries by diverting packaging waste from landfills, bodies of water and the broader environment through the collection of recyclables and non-recyclable plastic, fibre, glass and metal packaging materials.