Latest news with #RyanCollins
The Guardian
29-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Fruit stickers are annoying and bad for the environment. So why did an Australian ban come unstuck?
Fruit stickers may be small, but they can be mighty annoying. Each year 5.62bn plastic labels are picked off fruit and vegetables in Australia, data shows. Those that are not accidentally eaten, washed down the sink or buried in compost, usually end up in landfill, adding about 110 tonnes of plastic to the pile. South Australia was set to ban the stickers from September, along with other problematic plastics like soy sauce fish, and it would have been the first Australian jurisdiction to do so. Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton's Clear Air column as a free newsletter Residents overwhelmingly supported the proposed ban. 'These are so bloody annoying and unnecessary,' one wrote in a submission. 'I hate these stickers and consider them totally unnecessary on my fruit products,' said another. But the stickers will be sticking around a little longer. This week SA shelved its September deadline, after growers and industry bodies asked for more time. Meanwhile, across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's ban, instituted in 2023, has been put on hold. Are fruit sticker bans coming unstuck? The plastic labels become a problem when they end up in home compost or in the curbside organics bin, says Ryan Collins, the head of research at Planet Ark. 'If they're left on those scraps, on the skin, and they go into curbside collection, then it ends up being a contaminant for the organics processor or composter,' he says. That becomes a cost and quality issue for organic waste companies, whose products are used in agriculture and urban landscaping. They could also become litter, Collins says. Cip Hamilton, the plastics campaign manager at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, says the stickers often end up in compost bins and eventually contaminate the soil. 'Once in the environment, plastics are almost impossible to recover. Plastic fragments can cause devastating impacts to our wildlife and ecosystems.' The plastic labels, glued to the skin of apples, bananas, pears and more, are for convenience: there is nothing in Australia's Food Standards Code that requires retailers to label fresh fruits and vegetables. Most include a PLU: the acronym for price look-up code, four or five digits used to identify the variety of fruit and how it was grown – part of a voluntary global system for categorising fresh produce. Some feature eye-catching designs. The stickers are the best option for providing information to consumers and retailers (about origin, variety and price) with the least amount of packaging, the Australian Fresh Produce Alliance said in a submission last year. 'Additionally, they play a vital role in inventory management, traceability, reducing food waste and quality control for both producers and retailers.' Sign up to Clear Air Australia Adam Morton brings you incisive analysis about the politics and impact of the climate crisis after newsletter promotion There were non-plastic alternatives – like compostable stickers – the industry group said, but they were not yet available at commercial scale. Fruit tattoos – labels lasered on to skin or peel – have also emerged as an option, trialled by producers and supermarkets across Europe and the UK. Several Australian jurisdictions have flagged fruit stickers for the chopping block, as they look to get rid of single-use plastics. And governments have agreed they are a priority, where better coordination is needed. The South Australian environment minister, Dr Susan Close, said the state remained committed to the reform. 'Many South Australians told us through previous surveys and consultations that they 'loathed' fruit stickers as an inconvenience to remove before they recycle their food scraps.' It was a short delay – rather than a stop – Close said, and over the next 12 months the government would be working with growers, industry bodies and other jurisdictions. New South Wales has proposed to require compostable labels by the end of 2030. In Tasmania, fruit stickers have been slated for the second stage of the state's single-use plastic phase-out. New Zealand, which has delayed its bar on non-compostable labels to 2028 to align with the EU, was 'not stepping back from its leadership role in tackling plastic waste', the environment minister, Penny Simmonds, said. 'We are taking a more measured approach to ensure that alternatives are available, that industry has time to adapt, and that any changes are well-considered and manageable so that cost-of-living impacts are limited for businesses and households.'
Daily News Egypt
18-06-2025
- Business
- Daily News Egypt
US firm VXI to create 4,000 jobs in Egypt in $135m expansion
American outsourcing firm VXI plans to create 4,000 new jobs in Egypt as part of a $135m expansion that aims to increase its local workforce to 5,000 specialists by the end of 2028, the company has announced. The expansion plans were detailed during a visit by Egypt's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, to VXI's Cairo headquarters. He was accompanied by company executives including Global Chief Operating Officer Ryan Collins and Global Chief People Officer Erika King. Talaat said the visit was part of the ministry's focus on supporting international outsourcing companies operating in Egypt. He stated that encouraging investment in the sector was a key pillar of the government's strategy to boost digital exports and solidify the country's status as a global hub for these services. 'We are encouraging investment in the outsourcing sector as one of the main pillars for strengthening Egypt's position as a preferred destination for international companies in this field,' Talaat said. He noted that Egypt is seeing continuous expansion in the number of outsourcing centres due to efforts in digital skills development and providing incentives. 'We are continuing to cooperate with companies in the outsourcing field to expand the base of human cadres trained in the matrix of skills these companies require.' VXI's global COO, Ryan Collins, said the company's growth in the country highlighted its strategic advantages. 'Our expansion in Egypt reflects the huge potential of the region, not just for the competitive cost of operations in Egypt, but as a centre teeming with multilingual talent and a strategic location that provides access to European, Middle Eastern, and African markets,' Collins said. 'The rapid growth we have achieved confirms the excellence and quality of Egyptian talent and its ability to provide distinguished and scalable customer experience solutions from Cairo.' The expansion was welcomed by the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA). Its CEO, Ahmed El-Zaher, said the move demonstrated growing international confidence in the Egyptian economy and the strength of its outsourcing sector. He added that investments like those from VXI support the state's goals of increasing digital service exports and raising the digital economy's contribution to the gross domestic product by creating thousands of specialised jobs and transferring global operational expertise to the local market. During his tour of the facility, Talaat spoke with several young employees about their professional experiences and the skills they had acquired. He affirmed the state's commitment to enabling young people with digital skills for careers in the outsourcing sector, which he described as one of the most promising fields for professional growth. VXI was established in Egypt in December 2023 and became fully operational in March 2024. From its Cairo office, it provides services in six languages to clients in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and the United States. Ahmed Bahgat, VXI's Vice President of Operations for Egypt, Africa, and the Middle East, said: 'VXI Egypt appreciates the Egyptian government's support and its interest in the outsourcing industry, which has contributed to placing Egypt among the top three most attractive countries for foreign investment in this field.' VXI is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1998, it employs over 43,000 specialists in more than 43 locations across North America, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean.
