Coca-Cola PHL, Thai partner’s bottle recycling facility gets ‘pioneer status’

PETValue Philippines, a joint venture of Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines and Thailand’s Indorama Ventures, has secured a “pioneer status” from the Board of Investments (BOI) which makes it entitled to fiscal incentives.

In a statement on Thursday, Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines said PetValue, a P2.28-billion multi-phased project, will establish the “most advanced” and “world-class” technologies in the Philippines to produce more sustainable packaging innovations and to help improve the collection and recycling rates of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles.

“We are grateful for the Board of Investments’ recognition of PETValue’s innovations, as well as the agency’s guidance and support, which we are certain will prove invaluable to our collective pursuit of sustainability in the Philippines,” said Gareth McGeown, CEO and president of Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines.

An enterprise or project granted a “pioneer status” by the BOI is exempted from the payment of income tax for six years from the state of commercial operations.

“The pioneer status granted to PETValue is both an honor and an empowerment. As we play our part to lead recycling initiatives in the country, we are looking forward to a future where our facility is part of a much broader system that actively develops sustainable initiatives for the good of all,” McGeown said.

The BOI grants pioneer status to projects involving manufacturing or processing activities that have not been produced in the country on a commercial scale or uses a system of transforming raw materials using new technologies, among other qualifications.

The construction of the PETValue facility is currently ongoing in General Trias, Cavite, and is set to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2021, according to Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines.

The PetValue facility can process 45,000 metric tons or three billion pieces of plastic bottles per year. It will have an output 32,000 MT per year of recycled PET resin.

Through the facility, Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines said it aims to close the loop of its packaging by collecting all types of clear plastic PET bottles, even those manufactured by other companies, and reduce plastic waste and leakage into waterways; generate more jobs for Filipinos and promote improved livelihood options downstream in the waste value chain.—AOL, GMA News