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Manila Bulletin devider Environment and Sustainability devider How plastic recovery is building a greener Metro Manila

How plastic recovery is building a greener Metro Manila

Published Dec 18, 2025 11:41 am
Partnership for Plastic Recycling. The MMDA and the Jollibee Group have joined forces to promote plastic waste recycling among households in Metro Manila, signing a Memorandum of Agreement on November 13, 2025, at the MMDA office. Leading the signing are Atty. Romando Artes, MMDA Chair (2nd from left) and Joseph Tanbuntiong, Chief Executive Officer, Jollibee Group Philippines and Head, Jollibee Brand Global (2nd from right). They are flanked by USec. Procopio Lipana, MMDA General Manager (leftmost) and Atty. Raul Academia, Vice President, Public Affairs Head, Jollibee Group (rightmost).
Partnership for Plastic Recycling. The MMDA and the Jollibee Group have joined forces to promote plastic waste recycling among households in Metro Manila, signing a Memorandum of Agreement on November 13, 2025, at the MMDA office. Leading the signing are Atty. Romando Artes, MMDA Chair (2nd from left) and Joseph Tanbuntiong, Chief Executive Officer, Jollibee Group Philippines and Head, Jollibee Brand Global (2nd from right). They are flanked by USec. Procopio Lipana, MMDA General Manager (leftmost) and Atty. Raul Academia, Vice President, Public Affairs Head, Jollibee Group (rightmost).
Every seven kilograms of plastic trash collected can now be exchanged for a P100 gift certificate as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has partnered with homegrown restaurant company Jollibee Foods Corporation for a Plastic Waste Recovery and Rewards Program aimed at strengthening community engagement in waste collection and disposal.
The collaboration is envisioned to increase household and barangay engagement in proper segregation and collection of plastic waste by incentivizing them with the help of the private sector.
Through this initiative, residents are more empowered to collect and segregate waste, starting from their homes, with barangays having organized systems and the Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility (ISWMF) serving as the collection point.
MMDA Chairman Atty. Don Artes said the collaboration strengthens MMDA and the Jollibee Group’s shared commitment to environmental management, community empowerment, and sustainable development. The collaboration is likewise aligned with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, which aims to expand waste minimization activities to improve environmental quality.
“This collaboration between the MMDA and Jollibee Group is a testament to what can be achieved when the government and the private sector unite with a common purpose,” he said during the ceremonial signing of the memorandum of agreement held at the MMDA headquarters in Pasig City.
“Through the Plastic Waste Recovery and Rewards Program, we are promoting responsible solid waste management and directly inspiring households and barangays to take active roles in protecting our precious waterways and diverting waste from landfills,” the Chairman emphasized.
Artes also expressed gratitude to Jollibee Group for its commitment to community support and government-led waste management initiatives as part of its sustainability agenda.
“By providing motivational gift certificates as rewards and mobilizing accredited recycling partners for proper plastic processing, the Jollibee Group provides support for government-led waste management initiatives to expand their existing environmental efforts,” he added.
Jollibee Group Philippines CEO and Head, Jollibee Brand Global Joseph Tanbuntiong likewise underscored the important role of collective action in caring for the people and the environment, which is aligned with the company’s global sustainability agenda ‘Joy For Tomorrow’
"By partnering with the MMDA and our recycling partner, Greencycle, we're helping ensure that plastic waste collected from our communities is properly processed, recycled, and given new life. It is one way we can contribute to cleaner waterways, safer neighborhoods, and a more sustainable future for Metro Manila," he said.
“Our partnership is an example of collective action, demonstrating that lasting progress happens when government, business, and communities collaborate to bring their strengths together toward a common purpose and shared goal,” Tanbuntiong added.
Every one kilogram of plastic waste collected will earn the participant 10 points. Each participant will be given a Barangay Reward Card, which will contain a record of their cumulative points. For every 70 points accumulated in the card, participants may redeem a P100 Jollibee gift certificate.
Residents will bring their segregated plastic waste to their Women’s Group, community leaders, or designated barangay collection point. Community leaders will then deliver the collected plastic waste to the materials recovery storage (MRS), where barangay representatives weigh and record the volume in the barangay logbook.
Every week, collected plastic waste will be transferred to the ISWMF for re-weighing and verification, and will be stored there until the scheduled collection of the recycling partner identified by the Jollibee Group.
The project, which will initially cover 20 barangays in Vitas, Tondo, Manila will last for six months. It will extend to 36 barangays near the vicinity of Tripa de Gallina in Pasay and Makati City to further increase household participation and plastic waste diversion.
During the feasibility dry run in pilot areas of Vitas, the MMDA and the Jollibee Group generated 1,059 kgs of plastic waste from February 10 to March 31, 2025.
The partnership is part of the initiatives being undertaken to sustain the Metro Manila Flood Management Project (MMFMP) Community-Based Solid Waste Management (SWM) Program.

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MMDA Jollibee Group Jollibee Foods Corporation
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