Bepensa, as part of the Mexican Coca-Cola Industry, joins the National Agreement for the New Plastics Economy in Mexico, with the goal of promoting a circular economy model, taking firm steps toward its goal of a "World Without Waste."
Mexico City, December 5, 2019 – This morning in the Senate of the Republic, 60 companies, along with associations and chambers of commerce, signed the National Agreement for the New Plastics Economy in Mexico. This agreement was promoted by the Ellen McArthur Foundation and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with the aim of promoting proper waste management through a circular economy model.
Each signatory has committed to setting clear and ambitious goals for 2030, working together to eliminate unnecessary single-use plastics through innovation and redesign, converting them into reusable, recyclable, compostable, or recyclable plastics. These agreements will be registered with SEMARNAT (Secretary of State for Environmental Protection) for monitoring and enforcement.
In line with its efforts to achieve the goal of a "World Without Waste," the Mexican Coca-Cola Industry (IMCC) joined the agreement, with the participation of Coca-Cola Mexico, Bepensa, Arca Continental, Coca-Cola FEMSA, Jugos Del Valle–Santa Clara, and the Association of Mexican Coca-Cola Bottlers (ASCOCA); as well as its recycling plants, PetStar, the largest in the world, with one of its eight collection centers in Umán, Yucatán, and IMER, the first built in Latin America, the civil association ECOCE, and ANPRAC.
Other companies such as PepsiCo, Danone, and Nestlé also participated, providing a clear example of the importance of joint efforts.
“We can assure you that this agreement is not the final legislative path on plastics. There is still much work to be done, and therefore, we recognize our responsibility and will not abandon this task. What we are doing today is not the limit; on the contrary, it is the starting point. Through our commission and the alliance between government, industry, and key institutions, together we will be able to prevent the pollution of our rivers, oceans, lakes, and roads from the misuse of plastic,” reiterated Senator Jorge Carlos Ramírez Marín.
The national agreement promotes a broader vision of the "3Rs" (reduce, reuse, and recycle) by adopting two new actions: product redesign and rethinking, applied to both manufacturing and consumption. It also seeks to recognize a shared responsibility between government, businesses, and society.
As part of its implementation, policies and programs will be promoted through educational authorities, effective government services for waste management, and the development of infrastructure for its treatment and recovery. Companies will commit to reducing the environmental impact of their processes and products by reintegrating plastic waste into their production chains. In addition, society will be involved through proper waste disposal and separation.
The agreement established three ambitious goals for 2030: that packaging and containers be 100% reusable, recyclable, compostable, or recyclable; that the collection rate be made up of 80% PET and 45% of all plastics on average; and that the recycled content of these plastics be 30%.
It also promotes the creation of material management plans, which will be mandatory and must be registered with the competent authority; progress toward fulfilling these commitments will be reported annually.
According to Joan Prats, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Coca-Cola Mexico, “the country is already a success story in terms of recycling. We have achieved the recovery of 56% of PET, and although much remains to be done, we see great initiatives like this agreement through which we can continue promoting proper waste management and disposal, as well as a recycling culture. The goal is not only with PET; these advances must be replicated with other materials for their proper recovery and post-consumer processing in support of sustainable development.”
The new plastics economy is a vision of a circular economy, where this material never becomes waste, but rather acquires the potential to be recovered for subsequent transformation and use as a raw material.
As part of its objectives, the Mexican Coca-Cola Industry (IMCC) seeks to recover and recycle 100% of its packaging sold by 2030, and to ensure that all its packaging includes at least 50% recycled materials by that same year. It has also set goals for 2025, such as ensuring that all its packaging is 100% recyclable and that 50% of its portfolio is made up of returnable packaging.
To contribute to these global IMCC objectives, Bepensa is acting locally in the three states of the Yucatan Peninsula through comprehensive initiatives such as REQPET, its permanent PET collection program. This program seeks to foster a culture of proper waste disposal and separation in schools, organizations, businesses, the government, and society at large. Everyone must do their part, from authorities and businesses to the people who purchase a product and become key players in the recycling chain, activating the circular economy.
Currently, the IMCC is the country's leading recycler of food-grade PET, thanks to its ongoing packaging development, infrastructure development, eco-design, waste prevention, and promotion of a recycling culture.
Among its efforts are the blue Agua Cristal bottle, made 100% from other bottles; the "Verano Sprite" environmental movement, which brought together more than 3,000 young people to clean up 10 different bodies of water and urban environments in Mexico, recovering 24 tons of waste; its portfolio comprised of 43% returnable packaging and 98% recyclable containers; and the launch of the unmundosinresiduos.com website to promote joint efforts in favor of sustainable development.
#MundoSinResiduos ACERCA DE BEPENSA: Bepensa es un grupo empresarial mexicano, conformado por más de 40 compañías agrupadas en 5 unidades de negocios: Bepensa Bebidas, Bepensa Motriz, Bepensa Industrial, Bepensa Servicios Financieros y Bepensa Spirits. Juntas, brindan empleo y bienestar a más de 15,000 personas en México, República Dominicana y Estados Unidos. Sus decenas de marcas, muchas de ellas líderes globales en sus categorías, buscan satisfacer las necesidades de sus más de 350 mil clientes registrados y millones de consumidores en esos 3 países. Conoce más en: https://www.bepensa.com/bepensa-blog/
ABOUT THE IMCC: The Mexican Coca-Cola Industry is made up of Coca-Cola Mexico and eight bottling groups: Arca Continental, Bebidas Refrescantes de Nogales, Bepensa, Corporación del Fuerte, Corporación RICA, Embotelladora de Colima, Embotelladora del Nayar, Coca-Cola FEMSA and Jugos del Valle-Santa Clara, proudly Mexican companies that, for 93 years, have shared the culture and quality that distinguish The Coca-Cola Company. It is committed to making a positive difference, developing initiatives that promote the well-being and socioeconomic development of communities, being today one of the largest employers in the country, contributing 1.4% of GDP.
PRESS CONTACT AT BEPENSA
Monica de Coss
mdecossm@bepensa.com
Bepensa Corporate Communications.
