Business

Emirates To Launch onboard Utensils Made From Plastics Waste

Published

3 years ago

June 8, 2023

Charles Flames

493 Views

By Ocheneyi Alli

Emirates Airline says that it will this month, launch onboard items such as plastic trays, bowls, snack and casserole dishes irecycled from Plastics waste nto fresh, ready-to-use Emirates meal service products.

In a statement to mark this year’s edition of the United Nations World Environment Day with theme, #BeatPlasticPollution, Emirates said that it will introduce the new recycled utensils onboard from June 2023.

The airline recently entered into partnership with deSter FZE UAE, to recycling millions of the onboard used items.

Emirates says that the project is in line with its commitment to consuming responsibly, adding that the new initiative is a transition to the principles of a circular economy, whereby items are reduced, reused, and recycled.

” Millions of old and damaged meal service items from Economy and Premium Economy Class dining will be collected after flights, washed and checked for damage, transported to a facility in Dubai to be ground down, reprocessed, and manufactured into new dishes, bowls and trays – before being sent to Emirates Flight Catering to be used again for thousands of meals in the sky,” said the Airline.

Commenting on the partnership with deSter FZE UAE, Emirates explains that deSter is a leading provider of service ware concepts to the aviation industry, and expert in closed loop manufacturing.

” Emirates will be reusing plastic materials that have already reached their end of life and would otherwise need to be written off.
The new trays, casseroles, snack dishes and bowls, potentially containing around 25% reused material (recyclate), will be brought back into service on aircraft across the globe, and the proportion will continue to increase over time.

” The team at deSter are members of the CE100 network, which includes some of the world’s leading circular economy companies and have also been awarded the ‘Gold’ Sustainability rating from Ecovadis – a globally recognized certification for sustainable practices.

Emirates elected to work with deSter once a facility in UAE was ready to facilitate the huge scale of Emirates’ requirement – substantially reducing the carbon footprint of sending the products to another country to be recycled.

The deSter factory also incorporates sustainable design principles focusing on solar power, efficient use of water and minimization of waste,” it said.

Emirates’ commitment to reducing plastic waste

Emirates Airline is committed to reducing plastic waste and has already implemented several initiatives in addition to the new closed loop recycling project.

Emirates has diverted over 150 million single-use plastic items from landfill each year by replacing plastic straws, inflight retail bags, and stirrers with responsibly sourced paper and wooden alternatives.

Blankets Recycled From Plastic Bottles
Economy and Premium Economy Class passengers can get comfortable with soft blankets onboard, where each blanket is manufactured from 28 recycled plastic bottles.

Over the course of one year, this initiative saves 88 million plastic bottles from landfill.

Emirates’ current range of inflight toy bags, baby amenity kits and plush toys are made from recycled plastic bottles, and over 8 million plastic bottles were repurposed during 12 months of amenity kit production.

The hygiene covers for bowls on Emirates meal trays and plastic tumblers are made from 80% recycled plastic (rPET).

Emirates Economy and Premium Economy amenity kits are made from alternative materials such as kraft paper, rice paper and recycled plastic, reducing the consumption of virgin plastic.

Emirates Cabin Crew segregate glass and plastic bottles for recycling in Dubai, diverting about 500,000 kilograms of plastic and glass from landfill in 2022.”

Business

BUA Foods target expansion into noodles industry

Rabiu described the expansion programme as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s industrial future, emphasising that the company’s growth ambitions are driven by a commitment to national development rather than scale alone.

Published

1 day ago

July 17, 2026

OCHEFA

31 Views

Chairman of the Board of Directors of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu disclosed that it’s food arm – BUA Foods is going into new sectors such as instant noodles because “we see it as a very important sector because of its affordability and its accessibility.”

Rabiu made the disclosure in Abuja on Thursday during the 5th Annual General Meeting of BUA Foods.

He also disclosed that as part of efforts to boost food sufficiency, “we are doubling our wheat milling capacity from over a million to over two million, wheat per annum. And that is huge.”

“We are also tripling the capacity of our edible oil business. In fact, we are setting up a brand new oil mill in Port Harcourt.

“Our ambition has never been to become bigger simply for the sake of size. We are building scale because Nigeria needs strong indigenous companies capable of competing at the highest level, investing for the long term and creating lasting value,” he said.

Business

Naira Exchange Today Rates Friday,July 17

Published

1 day ago

July 17, 2026

OCHEFA

29 Views

BLACK MARKET RATES

US DOLLAR (USD) Buy ₦1, 417 Sell ₦1,423

GREAT BRITISH POUND (GBP)Buy ₦1,900 Sell: ₦1,920

EURO (EUR) Buy ₦1,600 Sell ₦1,615

CANADIAN DOLLAR (CAD) Buy ₦1,020 Sell ₦1,080

SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) Buy ₦75 Sell ₦90

UAE DIRHAM Buy ₦350 Sell ₦370 CHINESE YUAN Buy ₦190 Sell ₦205

GHANA CEDI (GHS) Buy ₦95 Sell ₦110

WEST AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2, 300 Sell ₦2, 400

CENTRAL AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2,150 Sell 2,250

AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR Buy ₦800 Sell ₦900

CBN OFFICIAL EXCHANGE RATES

US DOLLAR (USD) ₦1,381.53

GREAT BRITISH POUND (GBP) ₦1,866.17

EURO (EUR) ₦1,582.68

SWISS FRANC (CHF) ₦1,710.03

JAPANESE YEN (JPN) ₦8.51

CHINESE YUAN (CNY) ₦204.05

WEST AFRICAN CFA (XOF) ₦2.40

WEST AFRICAN UNIT ACCOUNT (WAUA) ₦1,876.60

SAUDI RIYAL (SAR) ₦367. 87

SOUTH AFRICAN RAND (ZAR) ₦84.08

Business

IEA ratifies Nigeria as an Association Country

In response, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo, said : “I am elated with the decision of the IEA Members to officially welcome Nigeria to the IEA Family as an Association country;

Published

5 days ago

July 13, 2026

OCHEFA

78 Views

Photo: Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources ( Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo (left) and the IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, at the event. Credit: IEA

The Governing Board of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has unanimously agreed for Nigeria to join the IEA Family as an Association country.

“I am thrilled that Nigeria is joining the IEA – it is Africa’s most populous country and a major international energy player. Nigeria becoming part of the world’s energy authority marks a milestone for global energy governance. I am very thankful to President Tinubu and Minister Ekpo for their trust in the IEA,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

Emphasising that Nigeria is home to over 240 million people and one of Africa’s largest economies, Faith Birol acknowledged that Nigeria is a major producer of oil and natural gas and is one of the continent’s most dynamic renewable energy markets.

“As Nigeria works to strengthen energy security, support economic growth and expand energy access, deeper cooperation with the IEA will bring important benefits for both sides. We look forward to building on our already strong partnership and welcoming Nigeria to the IEA, ” he said

“It is an honour for Nigeria to join this leading energy agency and I will take this opportunity to encourage the African continent to embrace the IEA, as we all work together to achieve key development goals including universal energy access and industrialisation.”

The IEA Governing Board’s decision builds on a strong history of engagement and collaboration between Nigeria and the IEA since 2014.

In September 2025, the IEA, Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources and the African Energy Commission (AFREC) jointly convened a Regional Roundtable on “Turning Methane Pledges into Action” in Abuja, bringing together energy stakeholders from across the region to advance efforts to reduce methane emissions from the energy sector.

As an Association country, Nigeria and the IEA will work more closely across a wide range of energy issues, including on the Agency’s engagement in sub-Saharan Africa.