MANILA -Alaska Milk Corp (AMC) said it has renewed its wrapper redemption agreement with the City of Manila, extending the sustainability measure further by three years as the milk company aims to collect about 1,400 metric tons of single-use plastics across the country.
The local milk products manufacturer -which is a unit of the Dutch multinational dairy firm Royal Friesland Campina (RFC)- said a memorandum of agreement was signed during a ceremony on Sept 19 led by AMC managing director Tarang Gupta and Manila Mayor Maria Sheilah Lacuna-Pangan.
“We are delighted to continue our partnership with the City Government of Manila for the Wrapper Redemption Program. True to Alaska’s purpose of nourishing Filipino dreams, we see this program as an opportunity to not just nourish Filipinos with affordable nutrition but also help nourish the planet by promoting proper solid waste management,” Gupta said in a statement.
Under AMC’s wrapper redemption program, which was launched in 2020, Manila residents can exchange post-consumer single-use plastics for the milk corporation’s fortified powdered milk drink.
The AMC said the program aims to make nutrition affordable and accessible to Manila residents, while promoting environmental sustainability at the household and community levels.
Proper nutrition push
It said the program, which is one of the pillars of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) program called AlasKalikasan, aims to promote proper waste management and encourage recycling in the city while introducing proper nutrition through milk consumption to the community.
Lacuna-Pangan expressed gratitude to the milk company, highlighting that they have been a part of the program since its launch about three years ago.
“The wrapper redemption program has been a tremendous success in promoting sustainable practices and raising awareness about waste management,” said the Manila mayor.
Aside from the City of Manila, the wrapper redemption program is also implemented in seven other cities/municipalities in the country, with plans to launch more in the coming months.
These includes the City of San Pedro in Laguna, the municipality of Silang in Cavite, as well as the cities of Makati, Pasig, and Quezon City in Metro Manila.
Waste management
The AMC said since the program’s inception, more than 1,250 metric tons of single-use plastics have been collected to avoid polluting the environment.
The milk company has also exchanged 100,000 kilograms of their fortified powdered milk drink under the program, with estimates of nourishing more than 1.25 million Filipinos
Aside from this partnership with Manila City government, the AMC said it also participates in other environmental initiatives of the city, citing in particular its coastal cleanup program at the Baywalk in Roxas Boulevard, Manila.
The AMC said its employees joined more than 3,800 volunteers last Sept 16 at the cleanup drive for the Baseco Beach as part of the observance of the International Coastal Cleanup Celebration, which is now on its 38th year.
Earlier in February, AMC also partnered with the waste management firm D&G Pacific Corp to establish a P45-million plastic processing facility in Antipolo, marking a new milestone in its sustainability drive to re-process plastic packaging materials for other use.
The facility, which the AMC said is the first of its kind in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia, can process single-use plastics and turn those into boards which are usable in furniture production or as a construction material.