Beating the plastic pandemic one brick at a time

Corona creates sustainable future with 100% black female owned company and zero plastic footprint on Global Recycling Day

In honour of Global Recycling Day (March 18), the Corona Net Zero Plastic Footprint initiative in South Africa has pledged to collect and recycle 25 tons of hard-to-recycle plastic every year in Gauteng and the Free State.

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In turn, Ramtsilo will facilitate the plastic collection programme and repurpose these plastics into environmentally friendly, fire-tested bricks that can be used in the construction industry including houses, buildings, and roads.

Through the Corona programme, Ramtsilo will be collecting the materials including but not limited to multi-layer (hard-to-recycle) plastics, HDPE, PET, LDPE, which can all be filtered into the brickmaking process. All waste-pickers that work in the programme will also receive specialized sensitization and training by Ramtsilo.

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“The future of South Africa will be built on these kinds of partnerships. By combining technology, goals of environmental sustainability, and the upliftment and support of women in business and local communities, we will see true impact on the economy. Our bricks are stronger than conventional cement bricks, use less water during construction, last longer and are fire-retardant. More importantly they recycle 100 pieces of plastic per brick,” says Tsilone.

Corona announced last year it would become the first beverage brand in the world to achieve a net zero plastic footprint. This means that the brand would need to recover as much plastic as it puts into the market.

“In South Africa, we understand that being environmentally sustainable is a turnkey to being socio-economically viable. This addresses issues of community upliftment as well as development and means we need to see impact, which is not only measured environmentally, but also by how we impact our communities,” said Thomas Lawrence, Corona Africa Marketing Manager.

“This project is going to create numerous, indirect, and direct jobs in the waste picking and recycling value chain. By supporting a business in the waste value chain, Corona and SAB are contributing to a circular economy, as well as becoming net zero plastic in the process,” adds Thomas Lawrence.