Coca-Cola meets 2020 with reignited passion and steadfast commitment to its World Without Waste vision—signifying a renewed focus on the entire packaging lifecycle, from how bottles and cans are designed and made, to how they’re recycled and repurposed.
Forging ahead through programs and initiatives that are impactful, relevant and inclusive, the goal and challenge remains: to help collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one they sell by 2030.
While initial strides are steadily being felt towards this end, Coca-Cola continues to work towards transforming how recyclable packaging is perceived and defined: a valuable resource of limitless use and possibilities.
Standing as the foundation of the ambitious World Without Waste vision, 2020 will see the groundbreaking of the company’s state-of-the-art bottle-to-bottle recycling facility—a first in Southeast Asia. The pioneering, next-generation facility is the embodiment of the company’s comprehensive sustainability blueprint that also allows for positive contributions to livelihood, industry and the environment.
Once completed and in full operation, the facility is expected to help increase recycling rates in the country while providing livelihood opportunities in the waste value chain—waste pickers, junk shops, aggregators—thereby underlining their critical role in a circular economy.
The P1-billion rPET recycling facility, an investment shared with like-minded organizations, is also seen as a model for other companies to follow, hopefully sparking investments in similar sustainable-oriented undertakings.
Coca-Cola Philippines has been exploring ways to earnestly embrace sustainable packaging solutions. One such example is the first-ever food grade recycled PET bottle for their Viva! mineral water brand. Introduced in 2019, the bottle is made from 100-percent recycled materials, an auspicious start to the company’s goal of achieving 50-percent recycled PET usage by 2030.
The company also announced an industry-first initiative of evolving the iconic green color packaging of their Sprite recyclable plastic bottles for a clear, new look. Colored recyclable plastics are known to be more difficult to recycle and are more limited in use compared to clear plastics. As a result, the transition of Sprite to clear plastic packaging ensures that its bottles are more easily recycled and reprocessed.
The company has also undertaken light-weighting efforts resulting in the reduction in the materials used in creating the packaging of their beverages.
Seeing the value in strategic partnerships and how these help in instituting a World Without Waste, Coca-Cola Philippines has been working closely with various government agencies alongside non-governmental organizations and will continue to do so this 2020.
The company has and will continue to team up with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Interior and Local Government and Department of Tourism, while also reaching out to local government units to strengthen the waste management systems across different cities, including Siargao, Davao, Bacolod and San Vicente, Palawan.
Meanwhile, alliances with non-governmental organizations including the International Coastal Clean-Up, the Negros Women For Tomorrow Foundation, Sarangani Province Empowerment and Community Transformation Forum Inc., Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, the Blastik Project by PeacePond, and Teach for the Philippines has helped Coca-Cola in their aggressive collection efforts and in mounting waste management trainings.
With the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Inc., Green Antz and Winder Recycling, the company has leveraged on their respective technologies in converting bottles into benches, bowls and clothing.
Coca-Cola said it is fully committed to its World Without Waste vision as a new decade approaches. “With the continued support and cooperation of all stakeholders—including consumers—we can truly make a difference, one bottle at a time,” it said.