US chemicals and plastics producer Dow (Midland, Michigan; www.dow.com) has announced the expansion of its Project Reflex flexible packaging recycling initiative into new markets in Egypt and Guinea, following a successful pilot phase in Lagos, Nigeria.

Post-consumer recyclate (PCR) created in the pilot phase is being trialled by a large brand owner for use in their food and non-food packaging applications; the US company did not specify the name of this brand owner. The pilot project specifically targeted the recycling of plastics water sachets in Nigeria when it was launched in 2020 (see Plasteurope.com of 22.07.2020). So far, a total of 520 t of flexible packaging has been diverted from landfill or the environment by the project into mechanical recycling streams and new applications.

The initiative aims to increase flexible packaging recycling in Africa, establish a market for recycled contents there, and help address the waste issue while providing job opportunities for local communities, said Dow. Project Reflex collaborates with public, private, and community-level individuals and organisations that are already supporting waste-management infrastructure and recycling.

The project works with waste management company Wecyclers (Lagos, Nigeria; www.wecyclers.com), which has extended its role into Egypt and Guinea, and Dow entered into an 18-month partnership with recycling NGO WasteAid (Kent, UK; www.wasteaid.org). The US company aims to divert 10,000 t of flexible plastics waste by 2025.