Purecog, a Dubai-based company focussed on minimising waste and maximising resource efficiency, has launched an initiative to assess and reduce the harmful and costly plastic footprint of organisations within the tourism, hospitality and healthcare sectors, in the Middle East.

Championing the transition to a Circular Economy, Purecog advocates a cost-effective and regenerative approach to resource management; in contrast to the traditional linear model, which has a 'take, make, dispose' attitude to production and use.

Since the 1950's, around 8 billion tons of plastic (that's 800,000 Eiffel Towers) has been produced, only 9 per cent of which has been recycled. It's easy to see how this figure has accumulated, with 2 million plastic bags and 1 million plastic bottles bought and used around the world, every single minute! The majority of this plastic ends up in landfill sites or the ocean, killing 1.1 million animals annually. It is statistics like these, which led to an overwhelming vote by members of the European Parliament, to ban all single-use plastics in Europe, by 2021.

By pioneering single-use, thin-film plastic replacement products such as water-soluble polymer shopping bags at the resource end, and upcycling technologies at the waste management end, Purecog is able to work closely with an organisation, first auditing and reporting on the single-use plastic footprint in all areas, then offering practical solutions to improve not only a company's green credentials, but more significantly, its bottom line.

Speaking on the subject Paul Gandy, operations director at Purecog, said: "Our team has a history of leading change, globally, in the field of sustainable business. That puts us in a uniquely advantageous position, ahead of the curve regionally, to assist a wide range of entities in the inevitable move towards a circular economic system, through knowledge sharing and problem-solving." - TradeArabia News Service