The Ministers of Military Production and Environment inaugurate a banana fiber recycling plant to produce cardboard containers
The Minister of State for Military Production, Engineer Mohamed Salah El-Din Mustafa, and the Minister of Environment, Dr. Yasmine Fouad, inaugurated the factory for producing environmentally friendly cardboard containers from banana fiber waste at the Armored Armor Production and Repair Factory (Military Factory 200), one of the factories affiliated with the Ministry of Military Production.
The opening was attended by: Yasser Abdullah, Assistant Minister for Waste Affairs, the Acting CEO of the Waste Management Regulatory Agency, a number of officials in the two ministries and the National Authority for Military Production, and engineer Heba Nayel, Executive Director of “Paperius Egypt” Company. to manufacture banana fibers, and Dr. Engineer Rami Azar, CEO and Managing Director of Papirius Australia.
During the opening ceremony, Minister Mohamed Salah explained that “this moment that we are facing now is the fruits of a great effort made over the past years,” Pointing out that the opening and operation of this factory comes in light of the existing cooperation between “Military Production” and “Military Production” And “Paperius” company Australian; To produce environmentally friendly cardboard food containers through an integrated system aimed at using banana waste to produce products that serve the family sector.
The Minister pointed out that the implementation of this system came in two stages, the first: it was carried out by the “Paperius” company; A factory was established in Sohag Governorate to convert waste into fibers, and the second phase is to establish an integrated automatic production line to produce environmentally friendly cardboard containers from banana fibers within one of the factories affiliated with the Ministry of Military Production, which is the armored production and repair factory (Military Factory 200), noting that according to this The existing cooperation between the two sides: The Australian company will purchase the entire production of “Military Production” And market it locally and export it abroad.
The Minister of State for Military Production – during the opening ceremony, which comes within the framework of Military Production’s celebration of its seventieth anniversary – stressed the ministry’s keenness to support the efforts of the Egyptian state to enhance the role of the private sector to participate in achieving sustainable industrial development and finding solutions. An innovative product that contributes to improving the living conditions of citizens, in implementation of the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, adding that the outputs of this factory (environmentally friendly cardboard containers) also come within the framework of the role of the Ministry of Military Production in implementing the municipal solid waste system, which aims to safely dispose of waste and transform it into Environmentally friendly energy or products that are economically viable; This is what has already been done in this factory, where banana tree waste will be recycled and many products will be manufactured, such as pulp suitable for producing paper, cardboard, and packaging tools, all of which are natural and represent environmentally friendly alternatives.
He pointed out that the traditional methods that were adopted Farmers must get rid of banana waste, which was either burned or disposed of by throwing it in drains and roads, or manufacturing artificial organic fertilizer, or what is known as compost, which harms the environment.
For her part, the Minister of the Environment confirmed that this comes within the framework of transferring and localizing technology. Modern environmental technologies used in green industries and waste recycling, noting that the first stage of the integrated automatic production line for producing environmentally friendly cardboard containers from banana fibers has a production capacity of 60 million units – cardboard boxes annually.
It also provides more Of 110 job opportunities as direct and indirect workers, the investment cost of the project during the first phase amounts to 40 million pounds, pointing out that the environmental dimension of the project is represented in the safe disposal and optimal exploitation of banana plantation waste. The capacity of the first phase is 50 thousand tons of banana plantation waste, and the capacity is The complex has a capacity of 100,000 tons of banana plantation waste, and it is working to replace 10,000 tons of plastic products annually for the complex.
The Minister of the Environment indicated that the production line consists of 6 tanks, a machine for crumbling and softening, a drying oven, and presses for adjusting shaping and ironing. The excesses were removed using 15 presses, noting that the (200 Military) factory produced a line similar to what was imported externally to increase the depth of local manufacturing, provided that “Paperius” company By marketing the products of this line locally and exporting them abroad.
She added: We seek to build an integrated system targeting the use of banana waste in the manufacture of usable products, explaining that the implementation of this system came in two stages, the first carried out by the “Paperius” company. A factory was established in Sohag Governorate to convert waste into fibers, and the second includes the new production line, noting that Egypt is cultivating 120,000 acres of bananas as sustainable agriculture, which produces 12 million tons of waste annually, and also produces 8 million tons of harmful gases if the work is not done. To benefit from these wastes.
She explained that the procedures for implementing the first industrial line to produce environmentally friendly cardboard containers from banana fibers began within the framework of existing cooperation between the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Military Production. Within the framework of the state’s plan to encourage environmental and climate investment, through the Environmental and Climate Investment Unit of the Ministry of Environment, these projects were announced during the activities of the Environmental and Climate Investment Conference as green projects and available investment opportunities, including waste recycling projects of all types, solid and agricultural.
The Minister of Environment indicated that the Ministry of Environment will soon launch an electronic platform that allows companies and representatives of the private sector from various fields, especially in the field of plastics, and enables them to collect ideas and investment opportunities available in all fields. To expand the circle of partners and facilitate investors’ access to these investment opportunities through this platform.
The two ministers also inspected the model complex for recycling banana plantation waste to produce environmentally friendly cardboard containers and organic liquid fertilizer. They also listened to the stages of the manufacturing process that is carried out through the latest Transformative technologies used for banana cultivation waste. The economic profit dimension of the project is represented in achieving a number of export revenues amounting to 1.5 million dollars annually for the line, and an export revenue of 3 million dollars annually for the complex, in addition to 70 million pounds in revenue from the production of organic liquid fertilizer, and providing 5 million dollars annually for the import of organic fertilizers, in addition to Completing supply chains with environmentally friendly cardboard products, producing clean, healthy, safe cardboard products without chemicals, meeting local markets with products with standard specifications, exporting cardboard products to global markets, in addition to carbon footprint certificate returns, and raising the efficiency of recycled cardboard stocks.
