Driven by the need to stop pollution of the environment in the country, preserve natural resources, and increasing awareness about the benefits of recycling, the market for recycled PET in Kenya is growing. Megh Group company T3 (EPZ) Limited is going to install the first PET recycling system for bottle-grade rPET and resin in Kenya and Eastern Africa, a Starlinger recoSTAR PET 165 HC iV+ recycling line, in Athi River just outside Nairobi. The food-safe rPET will be used in bottle preform production and for polyester fibre production in the textile and garment industries as well as for the group’s automotive trims and textile business Megh Singh Cushion Makers. T3 sources the post-consumer PET bottles for recycling through various collection strategies. With thorough collection and sorting methods and processing on the FDA and EFSA-approved Starlinger recycling system T3 ensures that the produced rPET resin will be of highest quality to meet the standards of global brand owners such as Coca-Cola.
“As we were trying to develop a project to produce our own textiles for the automotive sector, we realized that there is a big need for recycled materials in the textile and packaging industry”, explained Gurpreet Kaur Kenth, COO of T3. “Given the global shift from virgin to recycled materials with increasing consumer awareness and demand for sustainable products, there is growing need for recycled polyester in Kenya. We see the opportunity of closing the loop in Kenya through bottle-to-bottle recycling and have a number of reasons why we started this project. The main one is the impact we can have both on the environment and the local communities. Recycling is one of the most effective ways to reduce waste and conserve natural resources. When bottles are recycled, we are reducing the need for new raw materials. This helps conserve non-renewable resources such as oil and natural gas, which are used to make plastic. At the same time, bottle collection provides a source of income for the informal sector of waste pickers.”
