SUSTAINABILITY
z UFlex strengthens its global mission of building a circular plastic economy
UFlex joins Alliance to End Plastic Waste
UFlex , India ’ s largest flexible packaging company and a leader in polymer sciences , has become a member of Alliance to End Plastic Waste ( Alliance ), a global non-profit organization with a mission to eliminate plastic waste in the environment . UFlex ’ s steadfast commitment to tackle the problem of plastic waste and its expertise to derive solutions and technologies that help recover and recycle post-consumer plastic waste and help plastic find a purpose beyond its original use has earned it membership in the Alliance .
Through this affiliation , UFlex aims to contribute to the Alliance and share the sustainability practices that it has followed for years to mitigate plastic waste issues , thus globalizing these practices . The company also expects to learn and implement universally accepted practices . With support from the Alliance , UFlex intends to promote and drive sustainable actions within the regions where it is present as a packaging company .
Founded in 2019 , the Alliance to End Plastic Waste has convened a global network of corporations , project partners , and supporters across the plastics value chain . It undertakes joint initiatives with member organizations worldwide to minimize and manage plastic waste in the environment .
Towards this , it adopts a quadrangular approach to take collective action . These include the development of infrastructure for collection and management of plastic waste ; innovation and creation of new technologies to advance a circular economy for plastic waste ; education and engagement with various stakeholders to mobilize action towards meaningful solutions ; and clean-up of areas by working with partners to address plastic waste at source .
Jacob Duer , president , and chief executive officer of the Alliance , said , “ As the issue of plastic waste moves up in the global sustainability agenda , our mission to develop , deploy and scale solutions to end plastic waste in the environment is more relevant than ever before . Strengthening participation across the plastics value chain with UFlex will help accelerate our collective efforts . Together , we can work towards helping to create a more sustainable future , and I look forward to a fruitful partnership .”
As an industry leader in building sustainable , flexible packaging solutions , UFlex values conservation of the planet over profits and believes in the 4Rs approach to tackle the challenge of reducing stock and flow of plastic waste in the environment , that is To Reduce plastic at source by manufacturing and using films made from PCR . To Recycle via upcycling and downcycling of MLP ( multilayered plastic ) and PET bottles . To Reuse as source substitution via Pyrolysis . And to Return to the planet in the form of biomass if the plastic waste remains uncollected .
The organization has been upholding the utility of plastic in the economy for over three decades when recycling was still an undiscovered concept . UFlex says it was the first company in the world , ahead of others in developed economies , to recycle mixed plastic waste . It earned recognition for this at the Davos Recycling Forum in 1995 . It has been recycling its own and partner companies ’ industrial plastic waste since then .
Ashok Chaturvedi , chairman and managing director UFlex . Photo UFlex
12 Packaging South Asia 5 October 2021