LAHORE: Nestlé Pakistan, District Council Hunza, Gilgit Baltistan Waste Management Company (GBWMC) and Karakoram Area Development Organization (KADO) have signed an MoU for “Clean Hunza Project”.

The project is supported by the company’s Nestlé Fruita Vitals and Nestlé Pure Life brands.

“Clean Hunza Project” shall focus on infrastructure development for a waste segregation, management and recycling system for Hunza – a popular tourist destination – with District Council Hunza, GBWMC and support from KADO for raising awareness in the communities.

The collective action initiative will encourage waste management of 150,000 kgs of plastics annually in Phase I, followed by collection of 50,000 kgs paper packaging (used beverage cartons) in Phase II in the area with an increase of 10% annually.

The Project’s focus shall be on the segregation of Plastics and paper packaging at the waste site which, after the compressing and bailing process, shall be brought down the country for recycling.

Nestlé Pakistan shall provide a compressing and bailing unit to the Hunza district government. The company will also be distributing 10,000 reusable bags in the community during 2020 as part of the project.

KADO will extend support for different community awareness activities.

Waqar Ahmad, Head of Corporate Affairs, Nestlé Pakistan, while highlighting the company’s global commitment to tackle plastic waste, said, “This project marks the beginning of Nestlé Pakistan’s journey to reduce the environmental impact of plastic packaging by improving the management and recycling of various kinds of plastic packaging, in line with UN SDGs. Globally we aim to make 100% of our packaging recyclable and reusable by 2025.”

He further added, “The Clean Hunza Project is a pilot project with a focus on streamlining the management and recycling of plastic waste, with a forecast of increasing waste collection to 220,000 kgs by 2024. This project will result in lesser plastic ending up in water bodies downstream.”

Commending the cause, Babar Sahibdin, Deputy Commissioner Hunza, said, “We applaud support from Nestlé for providing us with 10,000 reusable bags, which will create awareness amongst the locals to stop using plastic bags and incline them towards a more environmentally friendly solution. We appreciate Nestlé’s for providing the Compressor, Bailing and Recycling infrastructure and capacity building of our staff on waste segregation site.”

Talking about the initiative, Ghulam Mustafa, Chairman KADO said, “We fully support District Government Hunza and Nestlé Pakistan partnership and are proud to collaborate with them in reaching our shared goals.”