Mexican Government, Industry Launch PET Bottle Recycling Plan

Mexico's Environment Ministry and a major industrial chamber are aiming to recycle at least 35 percent of the country's PET plastic bottles

The ministry said this week that Mexico's soft drink industry has offered an initial investment of around $5 million in the program.

Around 9 billion PET bottles are distributed in Mexico each year. The Environment Ministry estimates that 90 million of those bottles end up as litter.

"Some people toss (a bottle) while walking or leave it on the curb, others fling it from the window of a bus or from their car. Many families don't even pick them up after a day in the countryside or when they go to the beach," Environment Minister Victor Lichtinger said at a press conference Wednesday.

The PET program will start this year in the country's main metropolitan areas, as well as in some beach towns, such as Cancun.

The ministry and Concamin, which groups various industry chambers, have set a goal to recycle 2.6 billion PET bottles each year by 2006. To do so, the recycling project will require an estimated $87 million in funding. Dow Jones