The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved on a pioneer status the P2.3-billion state-of-the-art recycling facility for the plastic bottle packaging used by Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. (CCBPI).

BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said the project called PetValue is a joint venture between CCBPI and Indorama Ventures Packaging Inc., which is 30 percent Spanish and 30 percent Dutch-owned company.

The project will be located inside the Gateway Business Park in General Trias, Cavite. The proprietary recycling technology project has been endorsed by the Department of Science and Technology as pioneering venture in the country. The bottle-to-bottle recycling facility is expected to be completed in 2021.

Touted as the largest bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in the Philippines, the PetValue is expected to process 30,000 metric tons of used pet bottles or nearly 2 billion clear plastic bottles and produce 16,000 metric tons of recycled PET resins a year.

The PetValue project is part of The Coca-Cola Company’s innovative initiative “World Without Waste” launched in 2018. Its goal is to make its global packaging 100 percent recyclable by 2025 and use at least 50 percent recycled material in its packaging by 2030. This can be achieved through partnerships and investing in long-term sustainability and climate friendly solutions.

Already, 60 percent of the company’s packaging is either refilled or collected for recycling while 88 percent of its packaging is recyclable globally, and its packaging globally has 20 percent of recycled material. In addition, Coca-Cola’s 18 markets now offer beverages packaged in 100 percent recycled PET bottles. The Philippines was Coca-Cola's first market in Asia to begin local bottling operations.

Aside from its recycling facility, CCBPI, the local bottling arm of Coca Cola Philippines, has announced amid that pandemic that is investing additional $22 million in its local operations for 2020, augmenting the $73 million investment already earmarked for the year to a total of $95 million.

Gareth McGeown, president and CEO of CCBPI said the $95 million investment will go into the construction of new production lines across the country. McGeown said three Mindanao production lines will be constructed in Misamis Oriental, Zamboanga City and Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur.

McGeown said that the extra production capacities in these areas are purely based on the demand. “I think it’s a potential growth market for us the three locations in Mindanao,” he said.

At present, the company has 19 operating manufacturing facilities across the country and employs roughly 17,000 people.