On September 27, 2022, a presentation of a new socially significant environmental project ‘GO Wasteless’ and an innovative mobile application ‘Wasteless’ was held in the picturesque Japanese Garden at NEC Uzexpocentre.
The ‘Go Wasteless Project’ is a union of responsible and concerned companies and partners with a willingness to make a meaningful contribution to solving the environmental issues in Uzbekistan.
This project was initiated by the Coca-Cola Company in Uzbekistan and is being implemented in partnership with the State Ecology Committee of Uzbekistan and the Ekomaktab Environmental Resource Center, a public environmental institution, financially supported by the Coca-Cola Foundation.
The ‘GO Wasteless’ project aims at providing a smart collection of recyclable waste from the Catering sector (HoReCa sector) and establishing a collection and recycling chain through the ‘Wasteless’ mobile app. Restaurants, and in the future other waste producers, will be able to sell higher-quality waste directly to recyclers. Interaction through the ‘Wasteless’ mobile app will significantly reduce waste storage and shipping costs. Real-time collection and recycling of household waste will reduce environmental pollution and make cities cleaner and more comfortable for residents, tourists, and guests of Uzbekistan.
To date, the ‘GO Wasteless’ project has been launched within the city of Tashkent. In the future, this waste smart collection and recycling system will be launched in other cities and major tourist centers of the republic.
The ‘Wasteless’ mobile app has been tested and works effectively and swiftly in an easy and understandable way. By the end of 2022, the ‘GO Wasteless’ project team intends to connect about 1,000 HoReCa outlets in Tashkent to the application. To date, more than 200 catering outlets have expressed their interest and willingness to participate in this project which reflects the awareness and responsibility of the business for a clean environment and a commitment to the development of a “green” economy.
During the implementation of the ‘GO Wasteless’ project, the most environmentally friendly and committed catering outlets will be marked with the ‘GO Wasteless’ sign to give a particular signal to customers about the friendly attitude and commitment of HoReCa representatives to the environment and to promote separate waste collection.
A sustainable approach to doing business and contributing to the sustainability of communities are priorities for the Coca-Cola Company in the countries in which it operates. James Quincy, the Coca-Cola CEO, at World Economic Forum in Davos in 2018, said: “We treat our planet as if somewhere in the universe you can find another spare one, and after having used this one, we will simply take a new one off the shelf”. At the same forum, the Coca-Cola Company globally announced its new ‘World Without Waste’ strategy. The Coca-Cola Company will make its packaging 100% recyclable worldwide by 2025. "In Uzbekistan, this goal has already been achieved, since all of our packaging is 100% recyclable." By 2030, the company intends to produce bottles made from up to 50 percent recycled materials. The Coca-Cola Company intends to help collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells globally by 2030. “The ‘Go Wasteless’ project is an important step on the way to achieving our goal,” said Serkan Murat Dilek, the Head of the Coca-Cola representative office in Uzbekistan. “Solving the world’s environmental issues alone is impossible. Only through the consolidated efforts of companies, nations, and communities can we change our world for the better.”
The Coca-Cola Foundation is a philanthropic tool of the Coca-Cola Company, through which the company implements one of its top priorities: improving the living conditions and welfare of society, and in doing so making the world a better place. For over 30 years of functioning, the Foundation has provided more than $1 billion in financial support to various charitable projects.
In Uzbekistan, the Coca-Cola Foundation has been closely cooperating with UNDP, OSCE, and local NGOs to support sustainable community initiatives for more than twelve years. During this time, projects worth more than a million US dollars have been implemented under the Coca-Cola Foundation's financial support. The grants were awarded to solve problems of water scarcity in remote regions of Uzbekistan, improve the financial situation of women, and humanitarian aid to combat COVID.
