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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WITH PICTURES
AUGUST 22, 2022
MANJA PAMODZI CLEANS UP WITH BAT ZAMBIA
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Zambian Breweries’ recycling initiative Manja Pamodzi and British American Tobacco (Zambia) plc (“BAT Zambia”) this weekend held a clean-up exercise in Lusaka’s Kabwata township, as part of their contribution to the national Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme.
100 volunteers gathered to clean up their environment and collect as much litter as possible for recycling. The exercise also served to establish a collection network and aggregator site in the area.
The Manja Pamodzi Foundation is a community-driven environmental health education and clean-up project with an entrepreneurial twist. The project has a wide network of over 900 collectors and over 13 aggregators and collection sites; to date, it has collected over 15,000 tonnes of recyclable waste material from various communities in Lusaka.
The government’s EPR scheme is a critical policy tool is meant to hold manufacturers accountable for the end-of-life impacts of their plastic products and packaging and encouraging holistic eco-design in the business sector.
It is critically important that manufacturing industry stakeholders take responsibility for the environmental impact of their products, and promote EPR awareness programmes, create jobs and support sustainable environmental management through recycling, explained Zambian Breweries’ Corporate Affairs Director Ezekiel Sekele.
“As a responsible brewer, we set up the Manja Pamodzi Foundation with support from the Lusaka City Council and Zambia Environmental Management Agency, as a community-based recycling initiative to help clean up packaging waste in Lusaka with the end goal of improving sanitation and hygiene,” he said.
Globally, BAT has embraced a focus on tobacco harm reduction, which underpins its purpose of building A Better Tomorrow™ by reducing the health impact of the business. In addition, it is also focused on being an environmentally, socially and governance-focused corporate citizen. “BAT’s partnership with Manja Pamodzi is one of the ways we’re putting this stated ambition into practice,” explained Chipego Chileshe, Head of Legal & External Affairs at BAT Zambia.
“Collaborating with Manja Pamodzi is particularly important to us and is central to our ambitious Zero Waste to Landfill initiative,” she continued. “BAT Zambia aims to ensure that no waste goes to landfills – an unsustainable practice – and that we do all we can to reduce our carbon footprint by reusing and recycling our waste.”
BAT Zambia firmly believes that recycling waste is fundamental to the sustainability of all businesses, Chileshe explained, and hailed the exercise as important as it signified its growing partnership with Zambian Breweries by supporting their efforts to create a clean green economy and safe environment for all.
“As BAT, we’ve been on a journey to increase our sustainability for over 20 years. We have ambitious environmental targets as we strive to deliver A Better Tomorrow for all. Part of this includes eliminating unnecessary single-use plastic and making all plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. For this reason, we teamed up with the Manja Pamodzi Initiative in 2021, to promote the maintenance of a clean environment by creating a circular economy while simultaneously supporting the smallholders (waste collectors) and creating opportunities for them to enhance their financial wellbeing through collection and sale of waste,” she explained.
Zambian Breweries reiterated its call for other industry players to come on board of the Manja Pamodzi EPR vehicle, to better realise the numerous opportunities in waste management and recycling. “Manufacturers, distributors, importers, traders and retailers have a key role to play in promoting waste management and cleaner greener communities,” concluded Sekele.
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About Manja Pamodzi Foundation Limited
Manja Pamodzi Foundation Limited, registered in 2018, is an initiative of Zambian Breweries plc. The initiative is the first of its kind in Zambia and is enhancing the recycling value chain and improving community sanitation and livelihood through the development of collection networks and aggregator sites
The Manja Pamodzi initiative was launched in Zambia in 2015 and has a collector network of over 850 collectors (70% of whom are women), Over 15 aggregation sites and has consolidated partnerships with the Lusaka City Council and Zambia Environmental Management Agency.
About AB InBev in Zambia
Zambian Breweries Plc is part of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), the largest brewer in the world, with more than 400 beer brands and some 200,000 employees in over 50 countries. It is also one of the world’s largest bottlers of soft drinks.
Zambian Breweries was established in Zambia in 1968 and its product range has grown to include clear beers such as Mosi Lager, Castle, Carling Black Label, Eagle beer, Stella Artois and Budweiser.
About British American Tobacco Zambia plc
British American Tobacco (Zambia) plc (“BAT Zambia” or “the Company”) is a subsidiary of the British American Tobacco Group of Companies (“BAT Group”), a leading multi-category business operating in more than 180 countries with over 50,000 employees world-wide.
The Company has operated in Zambia for more than 50 years and is the only tobacco processing Company listed on the Lusaka Securities Exchange. Our rich heritage in Zambia is further cemented through our investment in local manufacturing and support to over 4,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises.
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