Gunadamin Elephant House, the CSR arm of Elephant House, entered into a partnership with Viridis, one of Sri Lanka’s leading collectors & recyclers, to renovate and upgrade its existing recycling plant. Located within the Panagoda Templeburg Industrial Zone, the Viridis recycling plant processes 750 metric tons of plastic waste, annually. With the objective of increasing the collection of PET plastic and other plastics to ensure a greener Sri Lanka, Elephant House took steps to partner with Viridis to upgrade the existing recycling plant, through necessary investments in infrastructure.
Having successfully completed the necessary renovations and infrastructure upgrades, the upscaled plant was unveiled on the 21st of April 2023, amidst a special opening ceremony. Notable attendees at the ceremony included Dr. Anil Jasinghe, the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Mr. Mahinda Werahara, Director of Environment Pollution Control and Chemical Management Division and Ms. H.P.S Jayasekara, Director of Solid Waste Management, together with other senior officials representing the Ministry, Elephant House, Viridis and other stakeholders. The opening ceremony marked a major milestone for this important partnership, with both parties pledging to continue working together towards expanding PET and other plastic waste collection across the country, and help improve the rate of recycling in Sri Lanka.
Appreciating the significance of the initiative, Dr. Anil Jasinghe said, “Thanks to Ceylon Cold Stores for investing in and supporting local organizations to collect and recycle plastic. Young groups should be appreciated for joining together with such institutions and supporting projects to protect the environment. We are committed to providing our full support to Viridis for their future work.”
Daminda Gamlath, President, Consumer Foods Sector – John Keells Holdings, at Ceylon Cold Stores PLC also commented saying, “This is an important moment for both Elephant House and Viridis. We have worked together to improve plastic recycling capacities, and will continue to work in partnership to improve the collection and recycling of PET plastics, helping to reduce our impact on the environment.”
Viridis commenced operations in 2006, and is a BOI, CEA and EDB affiliated company. Since its inception, Viridis has grown into a leading player in plastic recycling in Sri Lanka, growing its own fleet of vehicles to support its collection infrastructure. In 2007, the Company began exporting PET bottle flakes, while also commencing recycling of other plastics. In 2014, PET bottle collection and processing exceeded 130 tons per month for the 1st time, while 100 tons per month was achieved by 2013.
In 2016, Viridis diversified its export markets and, by 2018, began collecting polycarbonates for recycling and export, while transforming used plastics into broom filaments, both for local and export markets. Since then, the Company has been coping with Sri Lanka’s emerging crises, and is now looking forward to expanding its capacity and working committedly to deal with Sri Lanka’s plastic pollution problem.
Expressing gratitude and confidence at the unveiling of the renovated plant, Mr. Nilantha Gamage, Managing Director at Viridis said, “We are immensely grateful that Gunadamin Elephant House was willing to commit to the investment required to expand our facilities and capacity. Now we are ready to meet the demands for plastic recycling in Sri Lanka, and work towards minimizing plastic pollution, together with partners such as Gunadamin Elephant House.”
Gunadamin Elephant House is the CSR arm of Elephant House that encapsulates all initiatives that are carried out primarily for the greater good of the society. This project is a part of the Waste Management pillar which, collectively with the two other pillars of Community and Sustainable Sourcing, makes up the whole of Gunadamin Elephant House.
