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ALBA Group Asia Limited (ALBA), Baguio Waste Management & Recycling Limited (Baguio) and Swire Coca-Cola Limited (Swire Coca-Cola) broke ground today on their joint venture project - the first food-grade ready plastics recycling facility in Hong Kong. Located in Lot T6 of the EcoPark, Tuen Mun, a plot which has been tenanted by Baguio under a 20-year lease from the Environmental Protection Department, this state-of-the-art recycling facility for plastic waste will be operated under the banner of New Life Plastics Limited (NLP).
Upon completion in 2020, the facility will be able to process and recycle 35,000 metric tonnes of the post-consumer PET (polyethylene terephthalate or clear beverage bottles) and HDPE (high density polyethylene or personal care bottles) plastic materials on an annual basis.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Secretary for the Environment of the HKSAR Government, Mr. Wong Kam-sing said, "Plastic waste is a global challenge. I am happy to see that Baguio, Swire Coca-Cola and ALBA join hands to work on this local plastics recycling facility which will turn waste plastics into plastic resins and the highest quality food-grade ready plastic flakes upon its commissioning in the third quarter of 2020, the biggest of its kind in Hong Kong. The plastic recycling facility goes in line with our waste plastics management and recycling work."
Mr. Ben Ng, Chairman & Executive Director of Baguio Green Group said, "With the establishment of the new plant, our objective is to enable the processing of a large proportion of PET drink bottles and packaging waste from personal care HDPE products in Hong Kong within a foreseeable time, and thus eliminating the previous practice of burying in landfill sites. Additionally, we aim to leverage our extensive waste collection network to create a positive impact on shaping the recycling behaviour in Hong Kong in order to build a sustainable living environment."
Mr. Nigel Mattravers, representative of NLP echoed, "This new plastics recycling facility marks a milestone in the development of modern processing of plastic containers in Hong Kong. I am pleased to see a sustainable route for the resource management in Hong Kong take shape, led by a team comprising of experts from the recycling technology, waste collection and beverage sectors."
The new facility is expected to deal with in excess of 100 metric tonnes of post-consumer PET and HDPE plastic materials per day, where approximately 2/3 of the capacity would be dedicated to PET resins and the remaining 1/3 to HDPE resins. Mattravers continued, "It represents the collective effort in championing the responsible management of plastics by stakeholders across society. Our new, fully-equipped facility designed with three-stage processing will turn classified PET and HDPE plastics waste into food-grade ready rPET flakes and high grade rHDPE pellets, which can be reused as raw materials for new, high-quality consumable or industrial products. This recovery process prolongs the life of reusable plastics, thereby, minimising the amount of plastics ending up in landfill sites or escaping into the oceans."
Dr. Axel Schweitzer, Chief Executive Officer of ALBA Group plc & Co. KG said, "As a global leader of recycling technology, we are honoured to have the opportunity to expand our commitment to Hong Kong further, with the upcoming opening of the city's first food-grade ready plastics processing plant shortly after the bringing into the operation of our first local Waste Electrical and Electronics Equipment treatment and recycling facility, WEEE·PARK in March 2018. Hong Kong is an international city with a strong motivation to go more sustainable. A modern recycling and recovery system for reusable plastic waste will definitely help build a greener community and move towards a closed-loop economy."
Mr. Patrick Healy, Managing Director of Swire Coca-Cola said, "Swire Coca-Cola, alongside other stakeholders, came together as founding members of the Single-Use Beverage Packaging Working Group in 2017 and launched the 'Drink Without Waste' initiative to reduce the amount of beverage packaging going to landfill in Hong Kong. Today's ceremony celebrates one of our most significant commitments under 'Drink Without Waste' - the establishment of a food-grade ready PET and HDPE plastics recycling facility for Hong Kong. Leveraging on the expertise of 'Drink Without Waste' participants including ALBA, Baguio and Swire Coca-Cola, this joint venture is a huge step forward towards our goal to 'close the loop': to process Hong Kong's discarded PET bottles to produce the raw materials which will feed back into our own supply chain as recycled PET." Healy continued, "As part of that initiative, Swire Coca-Cola also made a series of commitments, which include having all 'Bonaqua' water bottles in Hong Kong be made from 100% recycled PET, placing 300 'Bonaqua Water Stations' across Hong Kong and the recent launch of reverse vending machines which would incentivise the public with cash rebates to recycle their PET bottles."
The new facility is designed with green features including waste water treatment, full photovoltaic solar panels, heat recovery from HDPE extrusion line and air compressors. NLP has successfully secured a green sustainability-linked loan from HSBC acting as the venture's sole lender and green structuring advisor. The loan, adhering to the Green Loan Principles, is independently verified by the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA). Mr. Matthew Lobner, Head of International, Asia-Pacific and Head of Strategy & Planning, Asia-Pacific, HSBC said, "This facility is crucial for the recycling of plastics in Hong Kong. HSBC is proud to support it by providing a financing solution that incentivises improved environmental performance, while demonstrating both Hong Kong's commitment to addressing pressing environmental issues, and its capabilities as an international centre for green finance."
For Event photos and captions downloading, please check this link:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/cekvmhs6vn715o1/AADLRmbRS6_791rfYCjkLrCKa?dl=0
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About ALBA Group The ALBA Group, one of the leading recycling and environmental services companies as well as raw material providers worldwide, operates with its two brands - ALBA and Interseroh - within Germany, Europa and Asia. In 2018 its divisions generated an annual turnover of 2.1 billion Euros and employed a staff of more than 8,000 employees. In 2017 alone ALBA Group saved almost 4.1 million tonnes of greenhouse gases compared to primary production and at the same time about 30.2 million tonnes of primary raw materials through its recycling activities. |
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About Baguio Green Group Baguio Green Group Limited is a leading integrated environmental service provider in Hong Kong. Baguio's services include professional cleaning, integrated pest management, horticulture & landscaping, waste management, collection & recycling. Baguio Green Group Limited is a listed company on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (stock code: 1397) |
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About Swire Coca-Cola Limited Swire Coca-Cola is a division of Swire Pacific Limited, which is a listed company on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (stock code: 00019/ 00087). As the fifth largest Coca-Cola bottlers by volume in the world, Swire Coca-Cola has the exclusive right to manufacture, market and distribute products of The Coca-Cola Company in Hong Kong, Taiwan, 11 provinces and the Shanghai Municipality in Mainland China and an extensive area with the acquisition by Swire of the majority shareholding in the Hong Kong bottling company. Swire Coca-Cola manufactures over 60 beverage brands and distributes them to a franchise population of over 720 million people. |