Mondelez Philippines Inc. is partnering with social enterprise the Plastic Flamingo to collect and recycle 40 metric tons (MT) of post-consumer plastic packaging this year to build disaster relief shelters for highly-at-risks areas.
During an online press conference highlighting the launch of the partnership, Joseph Fabul, Mondelez Philippines Country Manager for Corporate and Government Affairs, said the partnership is geared towards the company’s goal of contributing to a better future amid the pandemic.
The company is committed to reducing its carbon footprint. In 2018, it made a commitment to make 100 percent of the packaging recyclable by 2025. To date, Fabul said the company is about 94-percent globally compliant.
“Around a fifth of our packaging globally is plastic. But only 2 percent of that packaging is recycled in practice at scale,” he said. “The paper and carton boards, and some rigid plastics and flexible plastic films are already designed to be recycled.”
Aside from Eden cheese and Cheez Whiz, Mondelez is the producer of iconic global and local brands such as OREO, belVita and LU biscuits; Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Toblerone chocolate; Sour Patch Kids candy and Trident gum.
While the company strives to make its packaging materials 100 percent sustainable, Fabul said that to date, technology is limited and that science has not offered a better alternative to plastic packaging like flexibles which the company uses to ensure food safety, and keep the food products fresh and in the best condition.
Nevertheless, Mondelez Philippines, he said, fully supports the government’s plan to ban certain types of plastics saying that it is in fact aligned with the company’s global goal.
“One of our global goals is to help minimize our climate change impact by addressing the collection and recycling of platic packaging. This means investing in waste management,” he said.
The company’s partnership with The Plastic Flamingo, a social company enterprise established in 2019, whose mission is to collect and recycle plastic wastes before they reach the ocean, started in 2020.
Todate, the partnership has expanded from a previous 1 MT collection agreement to a new commitment of collecting and recycling 40 MT of post-consumer plastic packaging, which translates to some 40,000 kilograms of waste to be collected from designated pick-up points and processed into recycled eco-lumber.
The eco-lumber will be used to create disaster relief shelters or huts for use during typhoons and the like.
“Plastic is a highly efficient material for food packaging that provides the right levels of safety, quality, product protection, and preservation. Simply put, there are no available replacements for food plastic packaging yet to ensure the contents remain safe, high quality and affordable,” he said.
Nevertheless, Fabul said the company supports eliminating unnecessary plastic, or items which have viable replacements that do not harm the environment.”
Fabul also highlights that at the core of this much-debated issue is proper waste management.
“Inconsistent collection and not enough recycling facilities means that plastic as well as other waste often end up in landfills, communities, or oceans—whether they are recyclable or not.”
Francois Lesage, CEO of The Plastic Flamingo, during the same press conference, commended Mondelez Philippines’ continuing commitment to ensuring that proper collection and recycling of plastic happens in the country.
The Plastic Flamingo believes that a world without oceanic waste is possible with collective effort from different members of the community.
He agreed with Fabul’s statement that the task of addressing the country’s solid waste management problem should not rest on the shoulder of the government alone, adding that manufacturers and consumers can help prevent plastic pollution by working together.
“We encourage everyone to segregate waste in their homes, and to find recycling centers in their communities so that waste is properly disposed of depending on its kind. For plastic waste, the simple step is to ensure it ends in the trash rather than disposing of it just anywhere. These are things we all can do. And for those who can, we encourage investing in collection and recycling activities to make a greater impact together.”
The Plastic Flamingo, he said, does not use incineration technology in recycling plastics, ensuring the public that in the process of upscaling plastics, no toxic fumes are emitted into the atmosphere or air pollutants added to the air the people breathe.
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