Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) is accelerating its plastic bottle collection program “Tapon to Ipon: Basta Klaro, Panalo” to benefit more communities nationwide.
Through Tapon to Ipon, clear beverage plastic bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET)–material that is 100 percent recyclable–are collected to be given new life through PETValue Philippines, the country’s first bottle-to-bottle recycling facility.
Through Tapon to Ipon, CCBPI hopes to change the mindset about packaging recyclability–because clear used PET plastic bottles usually get thrown away after use (tapon), their potential wasted. In sari-sari store collection hubs first launched in Batangas City and the City of Manila, used PET plastic bottles are being collected and exchanged by community members for incentives (ipon).
All Tapon to Ipon collection hubs are accepting all types of clear post-consumer PET plastic beverage bottles— regardless of brand –thus the tagline Basta Klaro, Panalo! Underscoring that clear plastic bottles chart higher in recyclability compared to colored ones.
“Through Tapon to Ipon, we want to raise awareness about recycling and we want to do our part in ensuring that plastic packaging materials that are 100 percent recyclable are collected and used again,” said Gareth McGeown, CEO and president of CCBPI. “At the same time, we’re starting a movement within local communities– World Without Waste is a collective movement and the contribution of every single individual is valuable.”
World Without Waste is Coca-Cola’s global goal to collect and recycle 100 per ent of the bottles and cans it sells by 2030–a campaign now finding a pillar in Tapon to Ipon and its ability to enjoin every stakeholder within and beyond the Coca-Cola ecosystem in taking part.
Tapon to Ipon leverages Coca-Cola’s extensive network to collect post-consumer plastic bottles: trade outlets such as sari-sari stores and wholesalers are being tapped to stand as collection hubs. These outlets–which often double as community landmarks, and who help bring Coca-Cola products closer to Filipino homes–are now also hubs through which plastic packaging gets collected for recycling.
To encourage store owners to participate, Coca-Cola developed an incentive-based strategy that would provide SMEs additional income on top of their sari-sari store business. Consumers also benefit from the program as they receive Coca-Cola products in exchange for the used plastic bottles that they will turn over at the Tapon to Ipon sari-sari store hubs.
In addition to collecting plastic bottles through sari-sari stores and wholesalers, Tapon to Ipon: Baskta Klaro, Panalo was also launched via CCBPI’s Happiness on Demand (HOD) home delivery service. HOD customers in Las Pinas, Parañaque, Alabang, and Bonifacio Global City can turn over clear plastic bottles to the Coca-Cola HOD team upon delivery of their orders.
