Industry first agreement signed by Tetra Pak Arabia and Middle East Paper Company

This announcement coincided with World Environment Day celebrations taking place globally on 5th June.

The partnership will address the issue of recycling thousands of cartons that get discarded by households and other establishments across Saudi Arabia on a daily basis.

The agreement was signed after successful trials were conducted to demonstrate the recyclability of Tetra Pak cartons by MEPCO.

"We strive to be an eco-friendly company committed to the principles of conservation and sustainability. MEPCO partnered with Tetra Pak Arabia as they are serious about addressing the environmental issues within their industry and their imprint on the Saudi society. We are very pleased to announce this partnership and look forward to recycling the cartons and raising consumer awareness about environmental issues,"

said Abdullah Al-Moammar, Managing Director, Middle East Paper Company.

MEPCO will collect, sort and recycle cartons for use as raw material in manufacturing paper.

Beverage carton recycling will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfill sites.

"We are excited about launching our recycling initiative, which is an industry first in the food and beverage carton segment, with the largest paper manufacturing company in the Middle East. With MEPCO as our partner we are confident that we can not only facilitate recycling, but also help drive environmental consciousness in the region. It gives Tetra Pak Arabia a great sense of pride to look after the community we operate in by bringing about positive environmental change," said Mohammed Angawi, Tetra Pak Arabia's Environment Manager.

Recycling and sustainability are key business values to Tetra Pak worldwide and in the region.

The core product of Tetra Pak's packaging is wood fibre that comes from sustainable managed forests, a renewable resource.

The Jeddah factory of Tetra Pak Arabia is ISO 14001 certified and the entire factory waste is recycled regularly. Globally, the company recycles 21 billion cartons annually.

MEPCO produces nearly 340,000 tons of paper every year and also collects and recycles more than 379,000 tons of waste paper.

The company is planning to increase its capacity by September 2009 and will add 275,000 tons to its existing capacity.

MEPCO's long term aim is to reach a production capacity of 1 million MT by 2013.