|
Washington, D.C., April 22, 2009
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, supported the launch of operations for Petstar SA de CV’s bottle–to-bottle recycling facility, which is expected to significantly reduce the volume of non-biodegradable waste and contribute to greater longevity of landfills in Mexico.
Petstar’s state-of-the-art facility, which was launched today at a ceremony in Toluca Mexico, will convert used plastic bottles into food-grade resin, which will be resold to Mexico’s soft-drink bottling industry for production of new bottles. The plant was set up with IFC financing and can recycle over 30,000 tons of plastic bottles annually—or nearly 1 billion bottles whose total volume would equal that of a football stadium. In addition to the recycling facility, Petstar is also running an innovative social-responsibility program, which will help improve the welfare of informal laborers and reduce the incidence of child labor in the waste sector.
IFC provided a $24.5 million loan to the project—$13 million for its own account and an additional $11.5 million in a syndicated loan from Cordiant Capital. IFC also provided financial and advisory support to develop the social responsibility program, which will improve access to education for waste collectors and their children. The program will also test new models for formalizing waste separation and engage public and private stakeholders to influence long-term change in Mexico’s waste management sector.
Jaime Camara, Director General of Petstar said: “We are glad to start operations on this new facility, which will have a significant environmental and social impact in Mexico. We want to thank IFC and Cordiant for their commitment to Petstar, a unique project in Latin America.”
Gabriel Goldschmidt, IFC’s Manager for Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean, said: “We are pleased to support this state-of-the-art recycling facility, which will use old drink bottles to manufacture new ones. IFC is also proud to support the associated social program which significantly improves working conditions for some of Mexico’s most marginalized people, the waste pickers.”
IFC’s strategy for Mexico focuses on enhancing the competitiveness of the private sector, deepening the financial sector by introducing specialized products and markets, supporting infrastructure development and investments in areas newly opened to private-sector participation, and promoting sustainable environmental and social development and good corporate governance. Since Mexico became a member of IFC in 1956, the Corporation has provided over $6 billion to the country’s private sector.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About Petstar
Petstar and its subsidiaries, Avangard SA de CV and Innovative del Norte SA de CV, collect, sort, and recycle PET and other plastic materials throughout Mexico. Petstar is a subsidiary of Promotora Ambiental SAB de CV, a leading company in the Mexican environmental services market. Its main activities are in waste management, where it offers commercial and residential collection services. For more information, visit
www.avaicg.com/petstar.html
.
|
