Mondelez, Plastic Flamingo partner for recycling push

SNACK maker Mondelez Philippines, Inc. has partnered up with social enterprise The Plastic Flamingo (PLAF) in collecting and recycling 40 metric tons or 40,000 kilos of plastic waste, which would be used in the latter’s production of eco-lumber material for disaster relief shelters.

According to a press release issued late Tuesday, Mondelez Philippines said that it aims to promote proper waste segregation and recycling, which are considered as “goals which anyone could contribute to,” through its new partnership with PLAF.

During a virtual briefing on Tuesday, PLAF Chief Executive Officer François Lesage said that Mondelez Philippines would also be financing the project.

“Thanks to our partnership, they will finance the collection and recycling of 40 tons of plastic waste into eco-lumber this year, and we will build shelters for them and with them, which will be donated to a local government unit (in) Paranaque in this case,” Mr. Lesage said.

He explained the PLAF collected all types of plastic waste from various collection points across the city, and segregated high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene and polypropylene plastic for processing into eco-lumbers. Other plastic waste such as PET bottles are co-processed or recycled by their industrial partners.

Joseph R. Fabul, Mondelez Philippines country manager for corporate and government affairs, said the project would be funded from a portion of a “substantial investment earmarked for the company’s collection, segregation and recycling program.”

According to Mr. Fabul, Mondelez Philippines’ purpose is rooted in “empowering people to snack right.”

“This ties in to our sustainability strategy... because we use sustainable ingredients. We have a commitment to make 100% of our food packaging recycle-ready by 2025, and to date, we’re already 94% compliant. We also intend to reduce the environmental impact of our company and its products by 10% by 2025,” he said during the virtual briefing.

In October, Mondelez Philippines and PLAF announced a partnership where the former would be collecting one metric ton or 1,000 kilos of plastic waste for a two-month long pilot program.

The plastics would be collected from various collection points across Metro Manila. The plastic waste would then be repurposed into eco-plants, which would be mostly used to build emergency shelter kits for locals affected by natural disasters.

Based on a report released by the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment last year, the Philippines was identified as the world’s thirdbiggest polluter, as the country was said to have generated 2.7 million metric tons of plastic wastes per year. —