By Anthony Nwachukwu
* The Terminal Manager, APM Terminals Apapa, Mr. Steen Knudsen (right), and the Managing Director, FREEE Recycle Limited, Ifedolapo Runsewe, signing the MOU on tyre recycling
To further their quest for achieving the Maersk global ambition of zero carbon dioxide emission by 2040, as well as improving their capital investments in equipment, APM Terminals Apapa has expanded its economic reinvention of used tyres for further ends.
This followed its success last year in curbing harmful industrial wastes by compressing recycled used tyres into pavement blocks for exterior flooring.
Signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an indigenous firm, FREEE Recycle Ltd, for the recycling of used tyres, the Terminal Manager, Mr. Steen Knudsen, said the deal was in furtherance of the company’s contributions to reducing the harmful effects of industrial wastes on the environment.
“We are reducing the environmental footprint in Nigeria, and I am super excited we have FREEE Recycle Limited to partner with,” Knudsen said in a statement in Lagos Tuesday.
“We are recycling the tyres into materials that can be used in other parts of the supply chain. It is important to partner companies that have different expertise to complement our efforts to ensure that together, we reduce the environmental footprint in our businesses.”
Explaining the venture further, the Procurement Manager, APM Terminals Apapa, Chinyere Adenaike, said the terminal operator remained committed to sustainability and protection of the environment.
“We are committed to always taking constant care to ensure responsible operational practices that minimise, reduce and prevent negative environmental impact in the community.
“At the leadership level at Apapa, we have committed to a thorough review of our capital investments in equipment to ensure it is in line with our Maersk global ambition of zero carbon dioxide emission by 2040.
“The commitment is not just on equipment, we are also looking into the lifecycle of our rolling stock, from cradle to grave. We are happy to have partners who share our ambition towards the environment, and a port authority that firmly supports these initiatives.”
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of FREEE Recycle Ltd., Ifedolapo Runsewe, has commended APM Terminals Apapa for taking the lead in reducing solid waste in the country, adding that the MoU will enhance a collaborative effort in recycling tyres into reusable products.
“This MoU will allow both parties to work together towards recycling of tyres, and we are excited that APM Terminals decided to be at the forefront of this.
“We will be working with them for the next five years to ensure that all tyres generated within the facility are recycled into reusable products and re-used. We hope that more organisations will come on board.”
Also, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Theopilus Okoyomon, said the dangers tyres posed to the environment included that they lead to emissions of carbon dioxide and create breading space for mosquitoes.
Commending the initiative, representative of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Maryann Okeke, stated: “We do get a lot of tyres from the Lagos channels.
“Our commitment to consistent dredging has opened us to solid waste that can be recycled. We are having discussions with the Lagos State Government and carrying out sensitisation on the removal of solid waste from the harbor.”
