India’s largest oil company Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), will recycle 20 million discarded mineral water, cold drink and other PET bottles annually to make eco-friendly uniforms for its staff that man its petrol pumps and LPG distributor agencies. It is the first Indian firm to directly venture into the recycling of PET bottles.
In an event, ‘Unbottled – Towards a Greener Future’, SM Vaidya, Chairman, IOC launched a special ‘sustainable and green’ uniform exclusively designed for nearly 3 lakh fuel station attendants and LPG gas delivery personnel of the company.
IOC has already committed to a net zero emission target by 2046 and is now venturing into recycling PET bottles.
IOC will deploy an agency to collect such bottles – 20 million annually – and convert them into yarn to weave or knit fabric. This will then be supplied to a textile company for manufacturing uniforms for IOC’s petrol pump attendants and LPG gas agency staff.
The dress materials for these uniforms have been extracted from recycled polyester derived from the processing of used and discarded PET bottles. This initiative would support the recycling of about 405 tonnes of PET bottles, equivalent to offsetting over 20 million bottles yearly.
