The National Centre for Waste Management (NCWM) and Makkah Municipality’s Hygiene Department they have started distributing 15 smart machines to collect and sort empty plastic bottles in Makkah, in cooperation with PepsiCo and its bottling partner Middle East and North Africa Beverages Manufacturing Co. (MENABEV). The campaign has been launched as a result of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by PepsiCo and NCWM in July 2020 to raise awareness on the importance of environmental protection by using technological solutions to collect and sort plastic waste, as per the statement.

The MoU established a cooperation framework with one of the global companies in producing and operating smart containers that suit the geographical nature of Makkah. The smart, solar-powered containers work on sorting and separating the empty plastic bottles from other materials to facilitate and accelerate the collection process for future use in other industries.

“This initiative seeks to educate and raise awareness of the Saudi society on the importance of environmental protection by eliminating plastic waste in an ideal manner. The campaign aims to pilot technological solutions that can be used in the future to specifically deal with plastic waste during the Hajj season. This initiative has been launched, in alignment with the Saudi vison 2030, to protect and develop the holy sites’ environment,” said NCWM’s CEO Abdullah Faisal Al Sibaei.

“Makkah Municipality is interested in using artificial intelligence technology to sort and collect the waste from the source. This step has positive effects in raising the awareness, reducing the sorting process and speeding up waste transportation and disposal to factories for treatment and recycling,” said Makkah Municipality’s Hygiene Department Director Mahmoud Sa’ati.

“This campaign depends on innovative solutions to protect the environment, through the use of smart solar-powered containers to sort plastic packaging. This approach supports sustainable projects in Saudi Arabia, in alignment with the Saudi Vision 2030,” commented Nadim Nakfour, Managing Director, MENABEV.