Totalenergies EP, Nigeria Limited has inaugurated a pilot plastic recycling plant in Port Harcourt Rivers State.
It is a corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Joint Venture (JV) partner project of TotalEnergies, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
Inaugurating the project at Elelenwo community in Port Harcourt Local Government Area of the state yesterday, the Country Chair, Managing Director (MD) of TotalEnergies, Mike Sangster, said the idea arose out of the need to find sustainable solution to problem of single-use plastic waste management.
According to him, the multimillion state of the art plant has the capacity of recycling over 1000 tons of plastics in a year; save over 750 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per annum, and create over 80 direct and indirect jobs.
He said it would be managed by an entrepreneur on a loan basis for the replication of the project in other parts of the country.
He said: “While TotalEnergies is the sponsor of the project, the plant itself will be handed over to an entrepreneur who will run it and eventually take full ownership after repaying a part of the investment.
“The recovered part of the investment Sabster said would be placed in a recycling fund for re-invested into similar facilities in the state.
“Our objective is to develop a sustainable model where local entrepreneurs will be empowered, trained and supported to run the business, thereby supporting local enterprise while promoting sustainable waste management in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Goal 12, which calls for sustainable consumption and production patterns.