Manila, 13 April 2023: Rows of high piles of PET bales sprawled around the plant of PETValue Philippines, located in General Trias in Cavite Province, some 2-hour drive south of Manila. The bales consist of PET plastic bottles originating from municipal curb side collection, sorted to remove undesirable material, and baled for efficient transportation and handling.

PETValue Site Manager, Mr Joel Potian, said that as of March, the company has collected 13,000 metric tons of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles.

‘We are committed to recycle 2 billion used PET plastic bottles per annum, or equivalent to 30,000 metric tons of bottles, with an output of 16,000 metric tons a year of recycled PET resin,’ he said during RKC-MPD’s visit to the plant.

‘As of today we have produced 5,500 metric tons already. We’re happy that last February, we have shipped commercially to customers, Coca Cola and Glades,’ continued Mr Potian, who has nearly three decades of manufacturing and chemical engineering expertise in the Philippines and in the Republic of Korea.

Also read: Extended Producer Responsibilities and Private Sector Initiatives Key Factors in Curbing Marine Plastic in the Philippines

 

 

First operating in 2022, PETValue is the country’s first food-grade, bottle-to-bottle recycling facility, and the largest one in the Philippines. It is a joint venture between Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI), or the bottling arm of Coca-Cola in the country, and Indorama Ventures, Thailand-headquartered global sustainable chemical company.

The partnership is in line with The Coca-Cola Company’s ‘World Without Waste’ program, which was launched in 2018 with the aim to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle it sells by 2030 and use at least 50 percent recycled content in its packaging by 2030.

PETValue will help ensure that used PET plastic bottles-packaging will be given new life and function as they are collected, processed, and used multiple times. The plant deploys cutting-edge technologies and industry-leading best practices to employ the safest and most advanced recycling process for plastic bottles made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate) material.

The plant will wash and shred post-consumer bottles into flakes to produce recycled PET resin that is suitable for use in food-contact applications.

‘We’re encouraging everyone to use these recycled PET bottles. We have been our FDA and USFDA-approved, no problem with food contact, this is proven technology,’ said Mr Potian.

 

 

In terms of collection, he encouraged people to refer PET bottle suppliers to PETValue to drive the circular economy.

‘The main driver to circular economy is the collection. We’d like to encourage everyone to refer an aggregator to us and by doing so, you are participating in the circular economy. I hope the EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) Act could provide credits to these users of our PET. This way, we can really make PET circular economy a reality,’ he concluded, referring to the 2022 Law that requires big companies to adapt and implement policies for the proper management of plastic packaging waste.

Also read: How to Prevent Plastic Leakage from Factories and Informal Recycling Sector in ASEAN