DoleÔÇÖs Joint Venture Recycling Company Celebrates 25 Years

Recyplast S.A. provides key environmental service to agriculture in
Costa Rica

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Dole Food Company announced today that Recyplast S.A., an innovative
plastic recycling company based in Costa Rica and with joint ownership
including a subsidiary of Dole Fresh Fruit, recently surpassed 25 years
in its mission to dramatically reduce and reuse agricultural waste.

The plastic recycling facility pioneered the collection of field
plastics after use in banana growing operations in Costa Rica. This
reuse and recycling process includes reclamation of plastic bags that
protect bananas from weather and insects, as well as the collection of
plastic twine used to prop the banana plants and other plastics used to
protect the fruit during cultivation. The field plastic is processed
into plastic corner boards, which support and reinforce the structural
integrity of shipping pallets. Even after arrival some Dole customers
continue to recycle the corner board products down the chain.

This organization is a rare example of an environmental service that is
vertically integrated within an industry that generates the waste, which
after recycled, is used as a material in the fruit export process. The
process represents the convergence of environmental, social and economic
interests, creating sustainability that makes both business sense as
well as public benefit.

Initially Recyplast required a fee for collecting and recycling field
plastic waste generated by the banana industry to finance its operation.
Today the operation generates 105 direct jobs, stands financially
independent and in fact pays small businesses and community
organizations to provide basic raw material: plastic waste from other
agricultural operations, as well as post consumer waste from domestic
uses.

As Recyplast has grown the negative impacts related to plastic use and
disposal have subsided in Costa Rica. These positive results have been
extended throughout Central America as the recycler now imports waste
from Guatemala and Nicaragua and soon Honduras.

At a recent celebration to honor its 25th year of operations, Jose
Miguel Ramirez, General Manager of Recyplast, proudly recalled how the
operation has grown from producing four metric tons of plastic materials
(derived from waste) per day, to over 21 metric tons today. This
translates to the manufacture of 44,000 pallet corner boards each day,
the equivalent needed to export over 500 containers of fruit!

Renato Acu├▒a, President of Dole Fresh Fruit, was present at RecyplastÔÇÖs
25th Anniversary celebrations held in April.

ÔÇ£This is a great example of social responsibility. It is clear that the
leadership, dedication, and imagination demonstrated here are needed to
respond to the increasing demands of our society,ÔÇØ stated Acu├▒a. ÔÇ£The
commitment of all the employees of the organization is more than
evident, as is that of the community groups that manage the collection
of domestic waste to be recycled.ÔÇØ

About Dole Food Company

Dole Food Company, Inc., is one of the worldÔÇÖs largest producers and
marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole is an
industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in
nutrition education and research. For more information, please visit www.dole.com.

Contacts

Dole Food Company, Inc.
US Contact: William Goldfield
818-874-4647
[email protected]