SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) turned over bottle collection bins and benches to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) as part of the company’s “World Without Waste” (WWW) program here in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ).

The bottle collection bins were placed in various areas of the Freeport such as the Boardwalk Area, Mini Golf Course, Remy Field, and Malawaan Park.

According to CCBPI Stakeholder Relations Associate Manager Dianne Patawaran, the benches donated were made of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles collected from the WWW program.

These and the collection bins were placed in areas frequented by tourists, so they can drop off their PET bottles of any brand there.

CCBPI Corporate and Regulatory Affairs director Marc Anthony Cox said the WWW program was launched by the company a few years ago to collect and recycle the equivalent can or pet bottle the firm put out in the market.

“In the Philippines, we are in a unique position since Coca-Cola invested in a recycling facility called PET Value Philippines Corp.,” Cox added.

The company official also said that some of the recycled bottles from the recycling facility will become available locally for use by Coca-Cola, as the firm has already started using recycled PET bottles for its Viva mineral water in eco bottles.

With this, the SBMA signed an agreement with the beverage company to help collect as many PET bottles from these collection bins for upcycling into benches, school chairs, and even trash bins. SBMA Ecology Manager Amethya Dela Llana and Cox signed the agreement that would solidify the partnership to make the SBFZ cleaner and greener.

Dela Llana lauded the efforts of CCBPI, citing that PET bottles have been a most visible trash in the SBFZ. She said the agreement would not only help minimize the number of PET bottles littered here, but would also be used in upcycling the material into useful furniture.

Cox said that the company aims to help collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one we sell by 2030.

“That’s our vision for World Without Waste, an ambitious environmental program we launched in 2018. The world has a packaging problem. As the world’s biggest beverage company, we have a responsibility to help solve it,” he said.

He added that the company aims to make their packaging 100 percent recyclable by 2025, and use 50 percent recycled material in our bottles and cans by 2030.
“As we work toward a world without waste, we aim to collect and recycle a bottle or can — regardless of where it comes from — for every one we sell by 2030,” he said. ~