Begin typing your search...

IOC to recycle 20 mn PET bottles annually for eco-friendly uniforms

IOC Chairman SM Vaidya launches special ‘sustainable and green’ uniform exclusively designed for nearly 3 lakh fuel station attendants and LPG gas delivery personnel of the company

IOC to recycle 20 mn PET bottles annually for eco-friendly uniforms
X

New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest oil firm, will recycle 20 million discarded mineral water, cold drink and other PET bottles annually to make eco-friendly uniforms for staff that man its petrol pumps and LPG distributor agencies, its chairman said.

In a glittering ceremony titled 'Unbottled - Towards a Greener Future', IOC Chairman SM Vaidya launched a special 'sustainable and green' uniform exclusively designed for nearly 3 lakh fuel station attendants and LPG gas delivery personnel of the company. "There are 3.1 crore footfalls at our petrol stations every day. We deliver 27 lakh LPG cylinders per day and refuel 3,500 aircraft daily. Our tank trucks traverse 15 lakh kilometres a day. We are there everywhere," he said at the launch event.

IOC, which meets as much as half of the nation's fuel needs, has already committed to a net zero emission target by 2046 and is now venturing into recycling PET bottles, he added. Empty PET packaging discarded by the consumer after use becomes PET waste. IOC will deploy an agency to collect such bottles - 20 million annually - and convert them into yarn to weave or knit fabric. This will then be supplied to a textile company for manufacturing uniforms for IOC's petrol pump attendants and LPG gas agency staff. IOC is the first Indian firm to directly venture into the recycling of PET bottles.

The dress materials for these uniforms have been extracted from recycled polyester derived from the processing of used and discarded PET bottles. This initiative would support recycling about 405 tonnes of PET bottles, equivalent to offsetting over 20 million bottles yearly. Bollywood actor and environmental activist Bhumi Pednekar lent her name to the initiative.

Vaidya said, "These eco-friendly uniforms will shine as our green commitment, and I am delighted that our frontline energy soldiers will don them". "About 8 million metric tonnes of plastic enter the ocean annually, and about 150 million metric tonnes circulate in our marine ecosystems. At this pace, by 2050, there will be more plastics in the sea than fish. The conversion of plastic bottles into fabric is a beautiful example of how diligent handling of problems opens doors to new opportunities," he noted.

Vaidya also spoke of IOC's other eco-conservation outreaches like concerted drives to protect the Indian Single Horned Rhino and the reintroduction of Cheetahs in Indian forests after they went extinct over seven decades ago.

Bizz Buzz
Next Story
Share it