Coca-Cola Mexico will invest $175 million pesos in the construction and expansion of collection and recycling plants in the country this year, one being in Puerto Vallarta.
Mario García, director of North Region Operations of the company, said that $45 million pesos of the investment will be used to expand the infrastructure of the PetStar plant, located in Tlaquepaque, Guadalajara, to guarantee the care and reuse of containers.
"With our PetStar plant in Jalisco, we want to go from having 5,000 tons of recycled packaging per year to doubling up to 9,600 tons every year," Garcia said.
Jesús Lucatero, director of Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability of Arca Continental, mentioned that Jalisco has been a fertile land for investments, so the expansion of the plant will generate 1,500 indirect jobs for all the families who work to recover, buy and sell recycled PET containers.
"PET is the best example of the circular economy and through these jobs, they generate a living for thousands of Mexican families, this means that when we recycle a container it can be converted into a new one if we process it properly," he said.
The Tlaquepaque plant is intended to cover 21 municipalities around the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara and its surroundings.
In addition, Lucatero reported that with the investment of 175 million pesos, it is also intended to build a plant in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, as well as another in Nayarit and one more in Colima.
"We don't want bottles thrown in the streets, so we are going to increase the capacity to collect and reconvert them into other bottles and favor the culture of recycling," he added.
The Governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro, applauded the efforts of the companies to contribute to recycling and environmental care.
He also mentioned that the state government will invest $100 million pesos in infrastructure for garbage management, of which $70 million will be allocated to the expansion of two cells in Picachos and $30 million to modernize the transfer plants in Cajilota, Tlajomulco, and in Matatlán, Tonala.
