Before its participation in COP27 .. Tetra Pak and Uniboard join forces to establish the first-ever joint project to recycle used beverage cartons in Egypt  

State-of-the-art recycling plant to be installed and operated by Uniboard at their papermill in Sadat City

Cairo, October 2022: Tetra Pak, a world’s leading food processing and packaging solutions company, signed an agreement today with Uniboard, the leading Paperboard producer in Egypt, to co-operate with the objective to recycle used beverage cartons (UBC) in Egypt, with a total joint project value of over €2.5 million.

Tetra Pak, through its know-how and engagement with its global recycling solutions suppliers, is bringing the latest technology for UBC recycling.

Uniboard is the largest paper board manufacturer in Africa located in Sadat City, producing over 150 thousand tons of paper board annually which is used in a variety of high-quality packaging products.

This is an industry-first joint initiative with a paper mill in Egypt.The new recycling plant has a projected capacity to recycle 8,000 tons of UBC per year and is planned to be operational in 2023. The ambition is to fulfil its capacity in the next 5 years.

Wael Khoury, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Egypt Area, said: “Tetra Pak recycling goal is an integral part of our strategy to drive environmental excellence”. He added, “While we do not typically own or operate collection infrastructure or recycling plants, we make specific investments and contributions, provide technical expertise and share the experience gained globally with recycling partners around the world.”

“We also cooperate with all key stakeholders, public institutions, waste management and collection companies, NGO’s, retailers and our customers to make recycling work.” Noted Khoury. 

From his side, Sherif El Moallem, CEO of Uniboard said: “this partnership is the first of its kind in North Africa and it reinforces Uniboard’s position as a leader in the international paper board market. Uniboard transforms recycled wastepaper into paperboard, and we are happy to partner with Tetra Pak to add recycling of used beverage cartons to our portfolio.” He added: “This joint project is further evidence of our commitment to environmental protection and is an important milestone in our ambitious plans towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which rank high among our priorities.”

As part of its continuous efforts to increase collection and recycling of UBC, Tetra Pak aims to collaborate with other industry players and relevant stakeholders in the public and private sectors. The objective is to develop industry coalitions towards a combined effort with local authorities to support the development and implementation of waste management policies and practices.

This agreement between the two groups demonstrates both companies’ commitment to driving environmental excellence and to contribute to a sustainable future.  

Tetra Pak is a world leading food processing and packaging solutions company. Working closely with our customers and suppliers, we provide safe, innovative, and environmentally sound products that each day meet the needs of hundreds of millions of people in more than 160 countries. With more than 25,000 employees around the world, we believe in responsible industry leadership and a sustainable approach to business.   

 

UNIBOARD is the largest manufacturer of cardboard in the Africa. In its state-of-the-art factory located in Sadat City in Egypt, we transform recycled wastepaper into multi-Layer board, which is the main raw material in the production of most of packaging materials.

UNIBOARD deploys the latest cutting-edge technology along with our team of highly trained Egyptian and foreign experts to produce high-quality cardboard; all in accordance with our ISO 9001 certificate. UNIBOARD produces more than 70% of Egypt’s demand for paperboard and exports about 30% of its production to the Middle East, North Africa, Southern Europe, East Asia and South America.

Sustainability is among UNIBOARD’s core values. We are proud to have adopted a unique and efficient sustainability model throughout our entire production process. Through our continuous implementation of environmental waste recycling, Industrial wastewater treatment and recycling, as well as the safe disposal of solid waste under the supervision of Egyptian safety and health authorities.