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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS – Marking the first green CSR initiative of its kind in the Kingdom, Imad Bukhari, CEO of Jordan Centre for Trade and Investment (JCT&I) announced the launch of Jordan’s first and only full-fledged Recycling Centre during a press conference held under the patronage of H.E. the Minister of Environment Dr. Taher Al Shakhshir on Tuesday, 21st of June 2011, and with the attendance of its project partner Entity Green’s Deputy General Manager Fares Shaddad, as well as a host of prominent local media representatives.

“Needless to say, recycling contributes to preserving the environment by reducing the destruction of forests and other natural resources, saving energy and water and reducing pollution and global warming,” commented H.E Dr. Taher Al Shakhshir. “It is truly heartwarming to see a private sector company such as Cozmo step up and fulfill its responsibility by adopting environmentally sustainable practices. We are proud of Cozmo’s pioneering initiative, and hope to see others contribute to preserving Jordan’s environment and reducing their carbon footprint,” he added.

“Cozmo’s contribution to the environment along with the support of its customers can play a major role in making Jordan a greener place; each one of us has the responsibility to do his part in protecting the environment to ensure a safe and healthy future for generations to come,” said Imad Bukhari, CEO of JCT&I. He thanked Entity Green for their support in making the Centre a reality, and expressed hopes to see the Centre become the first of many similar initiatives that benefit the local community and Jordan as a whole.

Located in Cozmo’s car park, in the 7th Circle area, opposite the supermarket’s main entrance, the Recycling Centre aims to promote greater environmental awareness and community engagement by establishing a properly equipped recycling facility capable of serving the supermarket’s and its customer’s growing recycling needs.

The initiative is one of Cozmo’s most recent efforts towards adopting eco-friendly practices as part of its commitment to becoming an environmentally conscious corporate citizen. Cozmo currently uses biodegradable shopping bags, has switched to LED lighting to lower its energy consumption by at least 50%, and is working with Entity Green to provide training workshops for all Cozmo employees on how to go green at the workplace and tackle other environmental issues.

Initially launched in April 2010 as a small-scale CSR initiative in partnership with the Dutch Embassy and Entity Green, where orange recycling bins were set up in Cozmo’s upper car park, the initiative has since grown after positive feedback and involvement from the supermarket’s customers. The initiative’s popularity, customers’ growing awareness on the importance of recycling, and Cozmo’s own increasing waste production prompted the supermarket to establish a proper Recycling Centre to answer the increased need for recycling space.

Fares Shaddad, Deputy General Manager of Entity Green, said that, “As providers of enduring social and environmental solutions, we were thrilled when Cozmo approached us to implement the Kingdom’s first Recycling Centre.” He added that Entity Green will be the implementing partner for the new Recycling Centre and will be responsible for ensuring that the streams of all recyclables coming to the Centre from customers and Cozmo itself will be recycled properly. He noted that the Recycling Centre will also display products made from recycled materials by Entity Green's Recycled Design programme, ‘EG Design’.

Cozmo customers can now bring all their recyclable materials (paper, cardboard, plastics, metals and others) to the Recycling Centre and deposit them in the designated receptacles inside. The Centre will initially open from 10am till 10pm and will have permanent staff to provide assistance and information.