Global Recycling Day took place on 18 March, against an already troubled ecological backdrop for Sri Lanka.
One of Sri Lanka’s, if not the world’s, biggest ecological problems is the problem of pollution, particularly plastic pollution. From a Sri Lankan context, in 2019, earthday.org listed Sri Lanka as the world’s fifth largest plastic polluter in the world. Let that sink in. A 65 km² country of approximately 21 million people contributes to plastic waste along the same lines as countries like China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Data showed that we waste more than 5 million kg of plastic per day, despite not being one of the world’s largest consumers of plastic.
There are many initiatives, from both state and private actors, to minimise or at least manage the issue of plastic pollution.
Beira Parawood Products Ltd. (BPPL) Holdings PLC is one of these private actors. Founded in 1984, BPPL Holdings PLC, through its wholly owned subsidiaries Eco Spindles (Pvt.) Ltd. and Beira Brush (Pvt.) Ltd., exports recycled polyester yarn, monofilaments, and professional and household cleaning tools to international markets in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand with a considerable market share in each region. The group also produces household cleaning brushes retailed locally, under the brand “Tip Top”.
BPPL Holdings PLC’s subsidiary 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 kg of PET.
In commemoration of Global Recycling Day and its theme for this year, “Recycling Heroes”, which focuses on recognising people who play an important role in recycling, Eco Spindles launched its highly anticipated “Waste 2 Value” app at a special launch event held at Hilton Colombo Residences.
BPPL Holdings PLC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Anush Amarasinghe shared at the event that Eco Spindles was excited to be launching “Waste 2 Value” to coincide with Global Recycling Day, explaining that “Waste 2 Value” is the second phase of software that has been developed to help people collect more plastic waste to recycle.
Speaking on the process behind “Waste 2 Value”, Dr. Amarasinghe explained that through Eco Spindles’ physical operations, they have developed a network of agents and collection bins around the country, working with various organisations and actors ultimately recycling approximately 15-20% of the plastic imported into Sri Lanka each year and using this waste to create other products for export through the subsidiaries of BPPL Holdings PLC.
“We needed to see what more we could do,” Dr. Amarasinghe said, adding that the app made a lot of sense. Lots of people in rural areas have no way of disposing of their waste and get very little coverage from provincial councils and divisional secretariats.” Looking at this, Dr. Amarasinghe explained the initial idea was to place collection bins for rural households that are not serviced in partnership with corporates and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).
“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,” Dr. Amarasinghe said, adding: “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.”
This is what gave rise to the “Waste 2 Value” app, now available on the Google Play Store for Android and App Store for iOS. “Waste 2 Value” is capable of locating around 300 plastic waste bins around the island remotely, giving anybody looking to dispose of their plastic waste the right way, easy access to the collection bins closest to them.
Users of the “Waste 2 Value” app will be easily able to locate the nearest plastic waste bins with contact details. The app 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.
The launch of “Waste 2 Value” also recognised some of Eco Spindles’ long-standing corporate partners: Coca Cola, John Keells Holdings, MAS Holdings, Sevanatha Urban Resource Centre, YKK Lanka, and Ceylon Biscuits Ltd.
Speaking on Eco Spindles’ goal this Global Recycling Day and that of the “Waste 2 Value” app, Dr. Amarasinghe said: “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.”
PHOTOS Pradeep Dambarage