APM Terminals Apapa signs MoU with FREEE to recycle used tyres

APM Terminals Apapa has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with an indigenous firm, FREEE Recycle Limited, to recycle its used tyres.

Last December, APM Terminals carried out a successful trial by using pavement blocks produced out of recycled and compressed used tyres for exterior flooring.

Speaking during the MoU signing ceremony in Lagos the Terminal Manager, APM Terminals Apapa, Steen Knudsen, said the MoU is in furtherance of the company’s contribution 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. We are recycling the tyres into materials that can be used in other parts of the supply chain.

“It is important to partner with companies that have different expertise to complement our efforts to ensure that together, we reduce the environmental footprint in our businesses,” he said.

The Procurement Manager of APM Terminals Apapa, Chinyere Adenaike, said the operators remain 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 CO2 Emissions 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,” Adenaike said.

The Managing Director of FREEE Recycle Limited, Ifedolapo Runsewe, commended APM Terminals Apapa for taking the lead in reducing solid waste in the country and said 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 take 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 onboard.”

The Chief Operating Officer of FREEE Recycle, Theopilus Okoyomon, said, “We know the dangers tyres pose to our environment. They lead to emissions of CO2 and they are a breeding space for malaria mosquitoes. APM Terminals leading the way is more like a clarion call to all other companies to step forward.”

A representative of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Maryann Okeke, commended the tyre recycling initiative. A representative of BASF West Africa, Oyewale Akeredolu, said: “1 am glad to be here with FREEE Recycle and APM Terminals today – I believe, on behalf of BASF, that they are doing something quite remarkable. We are happy to be a part of the story by providing environmentally friendly systems and technology to be able to convert waste tyres into reusable products. Not every company will find their wastes efficiently managed, recycled and reused.”