Business
Emirates To Launch onboard Utensils Made From Plastics Waste
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
Dangote Refinery Ship 456,000 tonnes of PMS to African countries in February
The exports arrive at a moment of acute disruption in global energy markets, with several African countries that have historically depended on large refineries in the Persian Gulf now looking to Dangote as an alternative source.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has completed the sale of 12 cargoes of refined petroleum products totalling 456,000 tonnes to neighbouring African countries in February.
In a statement, the Refinery said that the shipments, sold on a free-on-board basis to international traders, have been delivered to Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Tanzania, Ghana, and Togo — a spread that signals the refinery’s ambitions extend well beyond its West African neighbourhood.
“This accomplishment underscores the Dangote Refinery’s capability to not only meet but exceed Nigeria’s domestic fuel demands.”
The exports arrive at a moment of acute disruption in global energy markets, with several African countries that have historically depended on large refineries in the Persian Gulf now looking to Dangote as an alternative source.
The refinery has framed its regional role in pointed terms, describing West Africa as a market long regarded as “a dumping ground for lower-quality fuels” and positioning its Euro 5-standard gasoline and diesel as a corrective to that history.
Business
Moniepoint buys Orda to capture Africa’s $50bn restaurant economy
Founded in 2020, Orda built software designed for small and independent restaurants that previously operated without digital systems.
Photo: Tosin Eniolorunda, Moniepoint co-founder and group CEO
Nigerian fintech company Moniepoint Inc. has acquired restaurant management startup Orda Africa in a move aimed at expanding its reach into Africa’s fast-growing food service industry, a sector estimated to be worth about $50 billion across the continent.
BusinessDay reports that the deal integrates Orda’s cloud-based restaurant software into Moniepoint’s business management platform, Moniebook, allowing food vendors and restaurants to manage orders, payments, inventory and accounting from a single system.
The acquisition highlights a wider shift among African fintech firms that are moving beyond payments to offer operational tools and credit to small businesses, especially those in the informal economy.
Tosin Eniolorunda, Moniepoint co-founder and group CEO, said that the food sector represents one of the most active but underserved parts of Africa’s economy.
“The food industry is a major source of jobs and daily survival for many Africans,” Eniolorunda said, adding that many businesses still rely on manual processes and disconnected tools.
The move reflects a growing competition among financial technology firms to control the digital infrastructure behind small businesses, particularly restaurants, which generate frequent transactions and require working capital.
Africa’s food service market is expanding quickly as urban populations grow and more consumers eat outside the home.
Nigeria alone is projected to see its restaurant market reach about $19.3 billion by 2030, growing at an annual rate of more than 11 percent.
Founded in 2020, Orda built software designed for small and independent restaurants that previously operated without digital systems.
The company’s tools help businesses track orders, manage kitchen workflows and monitor stock levels.
Guy Futi, Orda CEO, said joining Moniepoint would allow the company to connect operational data from restaurants with financial services such as payments and credit.
“To truly transform the industry, we needed to connect that expertise with comprehensive financial infrastructure,” Futi said, adding that customers would continue to use the platform while gaining access to new services.
Business
Dangote Petroleum announces N1,245 new price template for marketers
The new pricing, making it the fourth time since the Middle East war began, is set to take effect from midnight on March 21, 2026.
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced a fresh hike in the ex-depot price of its petrol to N1,245 per litre from N1,175 per litre while the coastal price increased from N1,512,648 to N1,606,518 per metric tonne.
The new pricing, making it the fourth time since the Middle East war began, is set to take effect from midnight on March 21, 2026.
In a notice sent to marketers on Friday night the company explained that the revision reflects global market realities, including fluctuations in crude oil prices and increased shipping costs, which are beyond the refinery’s control..
” Please note that the revised price will apply to all unloaded gantry and coastal volumes and is effective from 12am on the 21st of March 2026,” it stated.
The latest adjustment is expected to ripple across the downstream sector, with pump prices likely to rise in the coming days as marketers pass on the increased cost to consumers.
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