Khaldi had seen what the state did to manage such waste. “A study on the destination of plastic waste in Algeria shows that 86.24% are discarded in landfills or buried, 5.50% are incinerated, and 5.50% are used as fuel,” he says.

He believed that the market is heavily exploited and decided to introduce customers to this kind of plastic packaging while highlighting its low cost and sustainability. “Our bags can be used for packing cereals, semolina, flour, seeds and starchy foods, couscous, pasta, sugar, salt, livestock feed and poultry,” Khaldi says.

“The Earth suffocates under plastic bags, and today sociocultural, economic and technological evolutions generate new perspectives for paper packaging so that they can coexist with the protection of the environment and represent a durable solution,” Khaldi notes.

Algeria is in the process of banning the use of plastic bags. The ban cannot be done without the availability of a substitute product, but GBF SARL is offering an alternative solution while educating the customer.

“This will in return reduce resorting the single-use plastic bags, integrate our activity into a value chain promoting sustainable development, and strengthen the recycling of paper by integrating it in our manufacturing process a percentage of raw materials recycled within the limit of quality requirements,” Khaldi adds.

He was also part of the SwitchMed Training Program. “The program helped us make the project a reality, and ensure the solidity of our business plan,” Khaldi says. GBF SARL also has access to a network that provides the necessary support and experience. Khaldi’s model was inspired by the pattern of business canvases developed by Osterwalder and Pigneur.

Photo courtesy of Wendy Wei from Pexels