Coca-Cola Philippines expects to break ground on a P1-billion plastics recycling facility by the third quarter 2019 and start operating it by 2020.
Company president Winn Everhert said the project, which Coca-Cola is spearheading along with undisclosed partners, would be located at least on a 100-kilometer radius outside Metro Manila. It will have a capacity to recycle 16 metric tons of plastics a day.
“We still need to finalize the localization as well as the scale of participation of our partners, he said Tuesday during the unveiling of the blueprint for the sustainability project.
Coca-Cola’s major partners include a well-known local company and an international firm with expertise in green recycling processes.
The partnership will ensure the viability of the facility as a self-funding project in the long run, and if possible, make it profitable so the company can advocate similar projects in the Philippines.
“At Coca-Cola, we see our packaging as a valuable resource and not waste. It is therefore unacceptable to us that our packaging ends up in places where they shouldn’t be,” Everhart said.
“With our primary packaging in the Philippines being 100 percent recyclable, we see the potential of capturing its value by creating new and better approaches toward reprocessing and recycling recyclable plastic,” he said.
Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc., the bottling unit of Coca-Cola in the Philippines, noted that the recycling facility, apart from creating job opportunities, would also significantly reduce used plastic exportation. The project will create new PET bottles and give rise to industries that can transform the plastic to useful items, like fabric, shoes, benches and school seats.
“Our aspiration for this facility is to prioritize and close the loop on our packaging specifically here in the country by turning old bottles into new ones, so they do not end up as waste. This facility is testament to our resolve in making our World Without Waste vision a reality across the country. With this, we aim to create opportunities that will fuel a more robust approach to leaving a positive impact not just on our value chain, but also on communities where we operate in,” said CCBP president and CEO Gareth McGeown. Othel V. Campos