Nigeria’s largest container terminal, APM Terminals Apapa, on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an indigenous firm, FREEE Recycle Limited, to recycle its used tyres.

In December 2021, APM Terminals Apapa carried out a successful trial by using pavement blocks produced out of recycled and compressed used tyres for exterior flooring.

Speaking during the MoU signing ceremony in Lagos on Thursday, the Terminal Manager, APM Terminals Apapa, Steen Knudsen, said the MoU is in furtherance of the company’s contribution to reducing the harmful effects of industrial wastes on the environment.

He said, “We are reducing environmental footprint in Nigeria, and I am super excited we have FREEE Recycle Limited to partner with. We are recycling the tyres into materials that can be used in other parts of the supply chain.

“It is important to partner with companies that have different expertise to complement our efforts to ensure that together, we reduce the environmental footprint in our businesses.”

The Procurement Manager of APM Terminals Apapa, Chinyere Adenaike, said the leading terminal operator remains committed to sustainability and protection of the environment.

“We are committed to always taking constant care to ensure responsible operational practices that minimise, reduce and prevent negative environmental impact in the community. At the leadership level at Apapa, we have committed to a thorough review of our capital investments in equipment to ensure it is in line with our Maersk global ambition of zero CO2 Emission by 2040.

“The commitment is not just on equipment, we are also looking into the lifecycle of our rolling stock, from cradle to grave. We are happy to have partners who share our ambition towards environment, and a port authority that firmly supports these initiatives,” Adenaike said.

The Managing Director of FREEE Recycle Limited, Ifedolapo Runsewe, commended APM Terminals Apapa for taking the lead in reducing solid waste in the country, and said that the MoU will enhance a collaborative effort in recycling tyres into reusable products.

She said, “This MoU will allow both parties to work together towards recycling of tyres, and we are excited that APM Terminals decided to take the forefront of this. We will be working with them for the next five years to ensure that all tyres generated within the facility are recycled into reusable products and re-used. We hope that more organisations will come onboard.”

The Chief Operating Officer of FREEE Recycle, Theopilus Okoyomon, said, “We know the dangers tyres pose to our environment. They lead to emissions of CO2 and they are a breathing space for malaria mosquitoes. APM Terminals leading the way is more like a clarion call to all other companies to step forward.”

A representative of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Maryann Okeke, commended the tyre recycling initiative.

“We do get a lot of tyres from Lagos channels. Our commitment to consistent dredging has opened us to solid waste that can be recycled, we are having discussions with the Lagos State Government and carrying out sensitization on the removal of solid waste from the habour. Sometimes, truck drivers would come to the harbour, exchange tyres and leave the damaged ones there. But having such partnership in place will help us to make use of those solid wastes,” Okeke said.

A representative of BASF West Africa, Oyewale Akeredolu, said, “For us at BASF, business success tomorrow means creating value for our customers, partners and environment today. I am glad to be here with FREEE Recycle and APM Terminals today – I believe, on behalf of BASF, that they are doing something quite remarkable. We are happy to be a part of the story for FREEE Recycle by providing them with environmentally friendly systems and technology to be able to convert waste tyres into reusable products. Not every company will find their wastes efficiently managed, recycled and reused.”

APM Terminals Apapa is the largest container terminal in Nigeria. With an investment of over USD438 million in equipment, the terminal has continued to introduce new innovations to help both shipping lines and landside customers achieve improved supply chain efficiency, flexibility and dependability in a cost-effective manner.