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The Philippine unit of beverage giant The Coca-Cola Company said on Friday that its first polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottle recycling facility in the country has begun operating at full capacity, a major transition to make their business in the country more sustainable and environment-friendly.
Coca-Cola Philippines said their recycling plant, dubbed PETValue, in General Trias, Cavite, has gone full-throttle as of last month, and will be able to process approximately two billion pieces of used clear PET plastic bottles per year.
“We aim to develop a circular economy, to eliminate waste through the continual use of these as valuable resources. This is our way of tackling the packaging waste problem here in the Philippines and all over the world,” said Tony del Rosario, Coca-Cola Philippines president and vice president for the east franchise operations of Coca-Cola Asean and South Pacific.
“As a beverage company, we recognize that we have a responsibility to help accelerate collective action to promote the circularity of packaging materials,” he added.
The P2-billion recycling facility was established in partnership with Bangkok-based Indorama Ventures, and has been granted pioneer status by the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Board of Investments last year, making it eligible for tax incentives.
Del Rosario said the company aims to make 100 percent of their packaging recyclable by 2025, and to be using at least 50 percent recycled material in their packaging by 2030.
He also announced that beginning next year, the Coca-Cola original taste and the Wilkins Pure bottled water brand will begin using 100 percent recycled PET plastic packaging, excluding the cap and the labels.
Back in 2019, Coca-Cola Philippines began using 100 percent recycled PET plastics for its Viva! water bottle product, as well as shifted its Sprite 500 milliliter bottle to 100 percent recycled PET plastic.
Today, Coca-Cola Philippines uses returnable glass bottles for about 50 percent of its product lineup in the Philippines.
The Coca-Cola executive said they had established over 800 collection hubs for used packaging, which will promote segregation and collection of used PET bottles for recycling.
“As of today, our partnership with plastic banks has collected millions of PET bottles for recycling and diverted this away from the oceans and the landfills. The partnership has also helped improve the lives of more than 500 waste collectors and their families in Cavite,” he added.