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Don’t single out single-use plastics, Coke says

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Andrea Taguines, ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA - Other packaging materials may also need to be taxed, not just single-use plastics, an official of Coca-Cola said on Thursday.</p><p>A bill seeking to impose additional taxes on single-use plastics is pending in Congress. Lawmakers said it could help address plastic pollution while generating additional revenue for the government.</p><p>But Kirsten van Zandwijk, the Sustainability and Partnerships Director of Coca-Cola in the ASEAN &amp; South Pacific region, said singling out single-use plastics may lead to the use of other materials that may also harm the environment.</p><p>“The broader it is, the better it is because you want to have, preferably, all different packaging types being included to actually make [a] long-term and sustainable impact,” said Zandwijk during an event by Coca-Cola Philippines in Makati City.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/04/16/22/tips-how-to-make-your-home-plastics-free">TIPS: How to make your household environment-friendly, plastics-free</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Vaqh_O7qJ0g?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><p>“If you discriminate one packaging type then we can use another one that’s maybe cheaper or not taxed or not part of the EPR (Extended Producers Responsibility), for example. So you’re not actually moving in the right direction,” she added.</p><p>Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Philippines announced on Thursday it is ramping up its efforts to reduce its plastic footprint by making use of recycled plastic bottles as packaging for its products.</p><p>Coca-Cola Philippines President Tony Del Rosario said that their Coca-Cola Original in 190ml and 390ml, as well as their Wilkins Pure water in 500ml, will use 100 percent recycled PET plastic bottles, excluding the caps and labels.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/03/10/23/rise-in-ocean-plastic-pollution-unprecedented-since-2005">Rise in ocean plastic pollution &#x27;unprecedented&#x27; since 2005</a></li></ul><p>Del Rosario said they would need the public’s participation in the collection of used bottles.</p><p>The beverage company also launched a new customer engagement program, dubbed “May Ikabobote Pa”, which encourages customers to recycle their empty soda bottles by dropping them off at any of their 2,800 collection points across the country.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/01/23/more-consumers-turn-to-sachets-amid-inflation-study">More Filipino consumers turn to sachets amid inflation: study</a></li></ul><p>The recovered bottles will be processed by PetValue, a bottle-to-bottle recycling facility in the Philippines, which was created under a joint venture between Coca-Cola Beverage Philippines and Indorama Ventures.</p><p>Customers will be able to find the collection point nearest to them by scanning the QR codes printed on the labels of the Coca-Cola drinks they buy.</p><p>The company hopes the new initiative will help them achieve the plastic waste reduction targets they laid out in their Extended Producers Responsibility program which they submitted to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in February.</p><p>DENR Undersecretary Miguel Cuna, who was also present in the event, said that there are now 667 enterprises that have submitted their programs for proper management of plastic packaging waste since the EPR law took effect in August of 2022.</p><p>The measure obligates plastic manufacturers to recover the plastic they generate and to package their products using more eco-friendly materials.</p><p>The Philippines has been criticized as one of the leading sources of ocean plastic pollution. </p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/meWFBxf8e6Q?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

A bill seeking to impose additional taxes on single-use plastics is pending in Congress to help address plastic pollution while generating additional revenues. 

Don’t single out single-use plastics, Coke says

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Don’t single out single-use plastics, Coke says

Andrea Taguines,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 07, 2023 09:09 PM PHT

Read More:

Coca-Cola

plastic

tax on plastics

packaging materials

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