Etisalat Misr, VeryNile team up to turn Nile plastic waste into products

27 / 11 / 2021

• CSR
• news

Etisalat Misr joined hands with VeryNile – the first initiative to develop sustainable means to clean the Nile while raising awareness on the importance of protecting the environment – to clean up the River Nile from plastic waste which is turned into valuable products.

The cleanup campaign was launched in the needy Qursaya Island of the River Nile where 3000 people live.

This is the first time for Etisalat Misr to join the environment drive as its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy has always been focusing on three main sectors; namely education, health and combating poverty.

This action falls within the framework of the company’s keenness on serving the Egypt Vision 2030 which aims to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Etisalat Misr’s decision to invade the environment sector was also catalyzed by Egypt’s hosting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP27).

Etisalat Misr has also worked with VeryNile to contribute to empowering fishermen on the island through restoring their boats in addition to purchasing the amounts of plastic waste which they collect from the River Nile.

VeryNile established a workshop on the Qursaya Island for processing plastic waste and turning it into products.

This has helped to empower women and help them earn money through making products from recycled plastics, like bags, pencil cases, etc.

VeryNile said that the collected plastic waste is sorted by color – transparent, blue, green- and pressed into bales. Trucks bring the bales of recycled plastic to BariQ in Egypt, where the bottles are processed into pellets.

These pellets are eventually exported to Spain, where they are recycled into high-quality materials under the SeaQual label.

The collected High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) as well as non-recyclable plastic is given to local waste collectors for further processing.

VeryNile also said that SEAT automaker would get plastic waste from Egypt for manufacturing eco-friendly seats.

Also, IKEA gets this plastic waste to use it in its products which came to include some recycled materials.

Every day, VeryNile retrieves about 100 kilograms of plastic waste from the Nile.

These efforts are meant to contribute to international climate action to save the planet.