International Traders focused on recycling and trading aluminum from used beverage cans (UBC). To minimize initial investments, Maher decided to purchase pre-baled material from recyclers and resell them. Reflecting on that time, Maher now recalls those early days with both humor and amazement:

“In September 2010, I resigned from a senior management role at Crown, a U.S.-based manufacturing company specializing in empty beverage cans. I left to start a small recycling operation in a 200-square-meter garage, processing scrap cans. And where did I decide to do this? In cité Tadhamen a neighbourhood considered as slums. And when? In December 2010 – just one month before the Tunisian revolution. Can you imagine this situation and my immense frustration? I kept asking myself: What on earth am I doing? After holding a high-ranking corporate position, I suddenly found myself navigating the uncertain path of entrepreneurship amidst political upheaval.”

But Maher had taken the right decision: Six years later, his vision expanded, and International Traders evolved into Green ALAFCO, a recycling company specializing in aluminum UBC and scrap PET bottles. Today, the company collects, recycles, and exports approximately 600 tons of aluminum UBCs and 300 tons of scrap PET annually. Most of the recycled materials are exported to Brazil, Germany, India, Turkey and South Korea.

The challenges, its solutions and Green ALAFCO’s triple impact

The social and political challenges in Tunisia were only part of the difficulties Green ALAFCO faced on its journey. The scrap market itself posed the biggest challenge, as Maher explains that in reality, the scrap market is unpredictable, with a significant gap between an informal and unstructured supply and a stable, continuous demand. This imbalance can hinder our ability to achieve the goal of producing brand-new products from scrap by installing a foundry for UBCs and a hot-washing line for PET. The issue lies in the upstream supply chain, which is not secure” Maher confessed.

To address this challenge, Green ALAFCO has made it its mission to implement a circular economy strategy. By collecting and recycling of UBCs and PET bottles, the company not only strengthens its supply chain but also contributes to mitigating Tunisia’s severe plastic pollution. This is particular crucial as Tunisia ranks among the Mediterranean’s highest per-capita consumers of plastic.

He also points out the high demand for scrap aluminum, which currently exceeds market availability. According to Maher, their customers face significant challenges in sourcing scrap aluminum to meet the ever-growing demand driven by the rapid expansion of the automobile industry. This is why our company’s goal is to achieve a 100% collection and recycling rate. By doing so, we can supply larger volumes to our customers as a recycling company while at the same time maximizing our positive environmental and social impact.

At the same time, Green ALAFCO incorporates a socio-economic dimension into its mission by actively involving informal waste pickers in its collection efforts. The company not only purchases waste from these informal waste pickers but has also developed innovative recycling machines. These machines are designed for use by both waste pickers and ordinary citizens, enabling them to recycle their UBC and PET bottles waste.

The future vision

Green ALAFCO today employs a team of 16 team members and generates a yearly turnover of approximately half a million USD. Maher envisions the company as a sustainable model for advancing the circular economy model that Green ALAFCO represents. His vision includes three key components: Partnering with informal waste pickers to collect scrap while simultaneously driving a global awareness campaign, enabling both citizens and waste pickers to recycle scrap through the company’s smart recycling machines, and ultimately transforming the recycled scrap into brand new products.

Maher aspires for Green ALAFCO to become a role model across the African continent and for Tunisia to emerge as “an African hub for optimising the recycling closed-loop process – from selective collection to producing finished products from UBC – by replicating our pilot action in many African countries.” While he acknowledges that achieving this vision is a long-term endeavour, Maher is clear about the next steps for his company:

Green ALAFCO are actively pursuing three alternative-solutions to address Tunisia’s waste problem by:

– Collaborating with informal waste pickers, who are invaluable partners in increasing material collection rates

– Installing the smart recycling machines indoors and outdoors to efficiently manage and recycle collected scrap in-house

– Establishing a spin-off company in Burkina Faso, with plans to expand to other African countries.

For Maher, the most important lesson he has learned as a green entrepreneur is to “keep your eyes open— inspiration is everywhere—and never forget that the most important thing is to believe in yourself, your dreams, and your abilities.” This philosophy has been and will continue to be the foundation of Green ALAFCO’s success.