Coca-Cola Philippines plans to phase out sachets by 2022

COCA-COLA Philippines plans to ramp up the use of recycled plastic in its products and exit the sachet industry by next year, according to an executive.

“We will be accelerating the use of more recycled plastic in our bottles – also known as rPET bottles – for some of our brands by 2022,” Coca-Cola Philippines President Antonio “Tony” V. Del Rosario, Jr. recently told BusinessWorld through a public relations firm via e-mail.

“Ultimately, our vision is to help reduce the amount of used plastics that end up where it does not belong, whilst offering different packaging options for our consumers. We aspire to ensure that the packaging options we provide are sustainable, reusable, and/or recyclable,” he added.

He said the company began using 100% recycled plastic for its Sprite and Viva! Eco-bottle brands in 2019.

Mr. Del Rosario said Coca-Cola Philippines also plans to “no longer produce” next year the Eight O’Clock powdered juice drink, the firm’s only product that still uses sachets.

“We target to completely phase out and sunset the Eight O’Clock by next year, 2022, which means we will no longer use sachets anywhere in our packaging portfolio in the Philippines,” Mr. Del Rosario said.

Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc., the local bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Co. (TCCC), earlier announced that it will be exiting the sachet business next year and introduce paper straws in its juice and dairy products in line with environmental efforts.

Last year, Break Free From Plastic, a global network of civil society groups, named TCCC as the world’s “top plastic polluter” in its brand audit, after volunteers found over 13,800 of the firm’s plastics across 51 countries.

“None of us want to see beverage packaging — or any packaging for that matter — end up where it shouldn’t be. As a business, we’re taking holistic actions to tackle plastic waste and be a part of the solution,” Coca-Cola Philippines’ Mr. Del Rosario said.

“We’ve committed to ensuring all of the material we use in our packaging is collected and circular so that none of it ends up as waste, in our rivers or in our oceans,” he added.

TCCC aims to make 100% of its packaging recyclable by 2025, and use at least 50% of recycled material by 2030. — Angelica Y. Yang