In a push to decarbonise the economy, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation's largest oil firm, will recycle 100 million discarded mineral water, cold drink and other PET bottles annually to make eco-friendly uniforms for staff that man its petrol pumps and LPG distributor agencies.

The firm also rolled out indoor cooking stoves that can be run on both solar power and auxiliary energy sources to offer households a cheaper and environment-friendly cooking solution.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inaugural function of India Energy Week here launched IOC's uniform 'Unbottled' as well as flagged the commercial rollout of the indoor solar cooking system.

Modi said the launch of indoor solar cooking opens a new dimension for green and clean cooking and hoped the cooking stoves will reach 3 crore households in near future.

On the "Unbottled" initiative, he said 10 crore PET bottles will be recycled to help protect the environment.

"We remain focused on energy efficiencies, laying impetus on fuels of the future, including biofuels and hydrogen, and increasing the use of renewable energies etc," Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said at the event.

The double burner Solar Cooktop can provide a green, clean, effective and permanent solution for the cooking needs of the families, he said.

Puri also said that the "Unbottled" initiative, being launched today, is the largest initiative in the world to reuse and recycle 100 million PET bottles per year.

"PET bottles will be converted into cloth for the front-line workers of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), non-combat uniforms for Armed Forces and other Institutions and Retail sales," he said.

IOC, which meets as much as half of the nation's fuel needs, has already committed to a net-zero emission target by 2046 and is now venturing into recycling PET bottles.

Empty PET packaging discarded by the consumer after use becomes PET waste. IOC will deploy an agency to collect such bottles - 100 million annually - and convert them into yarn to weave or knit fabric. This will then be supplied to a textile company for manufacturing uniforms for IOC's petrol pump attendants and LPG gas agency staff.

IOC is the first Indian firm to directly venture into the recycling of PET bottles.

Each set of uniforms will support the recycling of around 28 used PET bottles.

IOC is taking this initiative further through 'Unbottled' - a brand for sustainable garments launched for merchandise made from recycled polyester. Under this brand, IOC targets to meet the requirement of uniforms for the customer attendants of other oil marketing companies, non-combat uniforms for the Army, uniforms/ dresses for institutions and sales to retail customers, according to an official statement.

The dress materials for these uniforms have been extracted from recycled polyester derived from the processing of used and discarded PET bottles. This initiative would support recycling about 405 tonnes of PET bottles, equivalent to offsetting over 20 million bottles yearly.

The cooking system, unveiled by the Prime Minister, is designed to work indoors. A solar panel on the rooftop provides the energy needed for cooking. And when the sun isn't there, it uses auxiliary energy such as LPG or piped natural gas, making it a reliable cooking solution for India.

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