PepsiCo unveils recycling initiative, tourist awareness drive in KP

ISLAMABAD: PepsiCo, through its flagship potato chip brand Lay’s, has unveiled a new recycling initiative and tourist awareness campaign in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Under this progressive initiative launched on Monday, Lay’s has partnered with the Kaghan Development Authority, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to build sensitization on proper waste disposal practices and raise community awareness about sorting waste at source and the significance of recycling mechanisms among tourists.

During the tourist-heavy summer season, Lay’s is also collecting used packaging from the Northern areas of Pakistan and upcycling these into tote bags and sustainable fashion.

This initiative is in line with PepsiCo’s pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) global sustainability agenda and is a component of the “Summer with Lay’s” campaign, which combines the joy of snacking with the spirit of giving back to communities and promoting responsible tourism.

As part of this programme, Lay’s has installed waste collection bins in 12 key areas across mountainous regions, lakes, and tourist spots in partnership with the authority.

The discarded packaging collected in the bins is being gathered by PepsiCo’s long-standing recycling partner Green Earth Recycling and deposited with upcycling partner organization Dastan-e-Rumaan.

At Dastan-e-Rumaan, artisans create woven tote bags with these cleaned wrappers, on handlooms. This upcycling effort also helps support women entrepreneurship and enables income-generating activities.

Under the ambit of “Summer with Lay’s”, Lay’s has also run a consumer-centric activation in 50 tourist hotspots including Murree, Abbottabad, Naran and Gilgit. Lay’s floats at these spots served delicious "Chip & Dip” experiences with flavors inspired by local ingredients and imparted important behavior change messages about the proper disposal of packaging. Key influencers were also a part of this campaign to further highlight the need for keeping tourist spots clean and green.

Mohammad Khosa, Senior Commercial Director Foods at PepsiCo Pakistan, said, “PepsiCo is committed to the advancing circular economy for plastics through collection and recycling efforts with our recycling partners.

Our pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) agenda is focused on creating a world in which plastic never has to become waste. With the exciting ‘Summer with Lay’s’ programme, we are leveraging the power of our flagship brand to deliver joyful snacking moments in these beautiful landscapes of Pakistan and leveraging consumer-attention and our key partnership with the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to mainstream our shared vision and build public awareness about proper waste disposal and recycling.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023