Globally, less than 10% of plastic ever produced has been recycled. The rest ends up burned, buried, or abandoned. Traditional recycling systems are not equipped to tackle hard-to-recycle plastics like multi-layer wrappers or sachets that are widely used but rarely recovered.
What we need now is urgent, scalable innovation that doesn’t just delay the problem but transforms it. For good.
Partnering for a circular tomorrow
At Unilever Pakistan, we know that tackling the plastic waste crisis requires radical shifts in how we design, collect, and reuse packaging materials. We’re working closely with local partners, recyclers, entrepreneurs, and communities to build a circular economy where plastic never becomes waste.
Our approach focuses on three core areas:
- Reducing unnecessary plastic in packaging and shifting to reusing post-consumer recycled waste in packaging and testing alternative selling models such as refills.
- Redesigning packaging to make it easier to collect and recycle.
- Reimagining plastic waste by investing in new technologies that breathe second life into it as part of an effort to promote circularity.
This last part is where our commitment truly comes alive, and where Pakistan’s growing ecosystem of green entrepreneurs plays a transformative role.
Meet Concept Loop: Building Blocks From Waste
Unilever Pakistan supported the Second Life Pakistan Challenge, an open call for ideas to tackle plastic waste. From that initiative emerged Concept Loop, a homegrown start-up that’s changing the way we think about plastic.
Concept Loop has pioneered the production of EcoGrete, an innovative construction material created by converting plastic that would otherwise clog landfills. This is not just recycling, it’s circularity.
So far, Concept Loop, with Unilever’s backing, has recycled over 900,000 kilograms of hard-to-recover plastic waste. That’s the equivalent of a staggering 563 million wrappers kept out of dumps and oceans. These plastic “waste” materials are transformed into durable blocks and pavers used for pavements, roads, and even housing.
From Founder and CEO of Concept Loop Ali Naqi, Our collaboration with Unilever on the Transform Project is about tackling the toughest part of the plastic waste problem. We are focused on extending the life of low-value, unwanted plastics by developing a solution that is not just environmentally sustainable, but also unit-economic positive. This ensures we can scale our efforts and build a truly circular model where waste is transformed into value, creating a lasting impact for a greener Pakistan.
Small steps with big impact
Our collaboration with innovators like Concept Loop is just one example of how Unilever Pakistan is reshaping the future of plastic. We’ve scaled up MLP and HDPE recycling streams with local recyclers to ensure that bottles and packaging don’t end up in landfills. We’re engaging households, communities, and schools to drive awareness and participation in proper waste segregation and recycling.
But we know that we cannot do it alone. Real change happens when companies, policymakers, communities, and consumers all pull in the same direction.
Together, we can close the loop
At Unilever Pakistan, we believe that waste doesn’t have to be the end of a story, it can be the beginning of a better one.
By investing in solutions like Concept Loop, we’re taking meaningful steps towards a world where plastic stays in the economy and out of nature.
Together, let’s turn plastic waste into building blocks, for stronger communities, resilient cities, and a greener Pakistan.