Nestle said it was committed to finding ways to keep plastics out of oceans through plastic collection and recycling programs. However, it added that sachets prevented leakage of micronutrients essential to addressing malnutrition, especially among children.

Unilever said it has a community-based sachet recovery program in the Philippines where collected sachets are converted to school chairs and cement pavers. It also pilot-ran shampoo and conditioner refilling stations this year, which it plans to scale up.

P&G referred questions to the industry group Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS) or the government’s National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC).

The bottling arm of Coca-Cola in the country has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the City of Manila to gather and recycle PET bottles in the metro. Under the MOA, clear PET plastic bottles—regardless of brand or manufacturer—deposited in contour bottle bins will be collected by Manila’s Department of Public Services and hauled by CCBPI to its PETValue recycling facility located in Gen. Trias, Cavite. This is the first project series lined up for the City of Manila.

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We acknowledge that the firms we are targeting have means to directly connect with other recycling facilities to process their waste or to build their own facilities, but we offer a value of innovating their plastic waste as an aggregate input to strengthened construction materials. Our potential partner recycling firms, the Green Antz and The Plastic Flamingo have the corporate social responsibility of building low-cost homes to the marginalized communities, which our clients may be interested in participating in the said initiative. 

The revenue model of the Sachet ECOn Cycle is solely commission-based. We will not charge our customers convenience and service fees. Instead, we will seek commissions from innovative recycling facilities to sell their services to large-scale plastic producers and FMCG companies. As per the Environmental Management Bureau Central Material Recovery Facilities Report on the Price of Recyclables, plastic packaging wastes costs PHP 10.00-13.00 per kilogram. We aim to negotiate at least 40% commission per kilogram per client.

Reduced plastic waste increases environmental quality. As a result, society will experience less threat to their health brought by plastic pollution. Additionally, there will be better environmental conditions that improve the quality of life in the community. Lastly, the success of Sachet ECOn Cycle has indirect benefits to the community as they will have an idea that they can profit from their plastic waste by depositing in innovative recycling firms, thereby increasing public participation in reduced plastic waste in the Philippines. 

As climate change targeting is the main advocacy of The GREEN Model, we hope that the planet benefits from our initiative, the Sachet ECOn Cycle. Through our business, we expect that there will be less plastic waste suspended in the soil and water. We also hope that plastic pollution will reach its minimum concentration in the Philippines. Lastly, we strengthen the buffering capacity of the Earth by lessening plastic waste pollution problems to cope with climate change. 

The customers of The GREEN Model benefit from Sachet ECOn Cycle through reduced EPR activities-related costs, thereby maintaining their revenue. Additionally, they can earn from whatever amount of plastic waste they deposit at a rate of PHP 10.00-13.00 per kilogram, again increasing their relative other income. Additionally, it increases their level of compliance and participation with the environmental laws governing their production, distribution, collection, and recycling activities. 

Our partner innovative recycling firms will also benefit from our initiative through the volume of collected plastic waste as an aggregate input to their construction-related products. Their market selling point is that with plastic aggregates in their concretes, the tensile strength, durability, fire absorptive, and water solubility quality will improve. Sourcing high-quality plastic waste will benefit the production of concretes and other related products. Thus, with their ability to mass produce innovative concretes, given the volume of plastic waste they can get from Sachet ECOn Cycle, their revenue will increase. 

However, as a startup, we expect that during the first few periods of the establishment, there will be low feedback from plastic producers and FMCG companies. We assume that they have already listed their diverters in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and offering our services to them may be late at this moment. Thus, we will try to convince them of our value and the benefits that they can get, and we hope that we can cater to their plastic waste with even just several percent of their total plastic waste. 

RA 11898 guides the plastic producer firms in their plastic waste management by either recycling, reducing production or establishing waste collection facilities. With unavoidable penalties for non-compliance, firms must abide by the EPR Act. Thus, The GREEN Model advocates for the stringency of the law implementation to encourage the firms to faithfully comply with the law, and at the same time, help to improve the buffering capacity of the Earth to recover.

The GREEN Model ensures the accountability of plastic waste producers in solving their plastic waste problems by providing them an avenue to help their EPR activities. By acting as a mediator between the plastic producers and recycling facilities, we guarantee that the EPR activities of obliged enterprises (OEs) of RA 11898 are accountable for managing their plastic wastes with low-cost, highly innovative, and profitable recycling practices. 

The GREEN Model highlights the action-oriented value, for we acknowledge the immediate need of the firms to comply with the newly-implemented law and the need of the environment to recover from the long-overdue problem of plastic pollution. As one of the central values of The GREEN Model, action-orientedness ensures dedication to service and sustainability.

The possible changes that can affect our market today and in the future are the following:

The changing of government leaders and alterations in the political system can influence the appeal of a particular local market. Governments see business organizations as a vehicle for social change. Our market will most likely be affected if the government revises, bans, or replaces existing Philippine laws, such as RA 11898. Other internal business adjustments will rely on government taxation and employment laws changes.

The most significant challenge of The GREEN Model is to make the project profitable while simultaneously being useful in the environment by collecting and recycling plastic waste.

The participation of FMCG firms and recycling facilities can affect the recycling process. For instance, recycling facilities can take longer to degrade plastics and turn them into something useful. On the other hand, FMCG firms may also stop participating in submitting plastic disposals.

Other waste management facility competitors may have better or more advanced technology to achieve a better plastic recycling process in terms of quantity and/or quality than the project, making plastic recycling faster and more efficient.

Sachet ECOn Cycle targets the obliged enterprises in Metro Manila and large-scale fast-moving consumer goods firms that heavily utilize plastic food packaging. They are the chosen market since they are required by RA 11898 to conduct EPR activities as their contribution to lessening the plastic waste problems in the Philippines.

As mentioned, we are also considering the percentage of commissions we can get to maximize The GREEN Model revenue. The company prioritizes recycling facilities that offer The GREEN Model the highest commission. We will not charge our customers any convenience or service fees. Instead, we will seek commissions from innovative recycling facilities in order to sell their services to large-scale plastic producers and FMCG companies. According to the Environmental Management Bureau Central Material Recovery Facilities Report on the Price of Recyclables, plastic packaging waste costs PHP 10.00-13.00 per kilogram. We intend to negotiate a 40% commission per kilogram per client.

The Plastic Flamingo, or The Plaf, is a social enterprise focused in the Philippines that gathers and converts plastic waste into a variety of sustainable building materials. They accept the following types of plastics:

The Plastic Flamingo does not accept foam food containers, wine glass bottles, sanitary napkins, soda cans, and old computers or other gadgets.

Green Antz (GA) is a circular economy and innovation organization that creates and implements disruptive solutions to reduce the amount of waste generated and discarded. It accomplishes this by converting waste streams into construction materials, infrastructure, and agricultural solutions. GA began in 2013 intending to develop solutions for the most difficult-to-recycle and lowest-value waste, such as multi-layered plastics. GA processes nearly every type of plastic, as well as organic, inorganic, construction, industrial, and other waste.

Green Antz has formed a partnership with Nestle, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Ayala Corporation, Holcim, Starbucks, Royal Dutch Shell, McDonald’s, Colgate-Palmolive, etc. It accomplishes this by creating an ecosystem of multiple stakeholders who work together to provide sustainable waste solutions, social inclusion, and evolving-adapting technological solutions.

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Nestlé Philippines, Inc. is a robust and stable organization proud of its role in bringing the best food and beverage throughout the stages of Filipino consumers' lives, more than a century after it first began operations in the country. As a Good Food, Good Life organization, it believes in the power of food to improve people's lives. Good food both nourishes and pleases the senses. It promotes healthy growth in children, the well-being of pets, the graceful aging of parents, and the enjoyment of life in general, respects the environment, and conserves resources for future generations.

Nestlé constantly explores and pushes the boundaries of what foods, beverages, and nutritional health solutions can do to improve quality of life and contribute to a healthier future. We direct our efforts and resources to areas where harnessing the power of food can make the most significant difference in the lives of people and pets, protect and improve the environment, and generate significant value for our shareholders and stakeholders.

Unilever Philippines, Inc. manufactures laundry detergents and soaps, shampoos and hair conditioners, toothpaste, deodorants, skin care products, household cleaners, and toilet soaps, thus achieving annual sales of more than 40 billion pesos with over 1,000 employees nationwide.

Unilever's founders revolutionized hygiene by employing locals to produce low-cost packaged soap since the inception of one of our first brands, Sunlight soap, when poverty and poor sanitation tormented early societies. This set a precedent for a purpose-driven business that has spanned generations, ensuring accessibility while providing livelihood.

Procter and Gamble Philippines, Inc. produces superior products usable in living rooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and bathrooms, passed down from generation to generation as trusted by millions of households. Founded over 180 years ago as a simple soap and candle company, it dedicated its products to improving people's lives in small but meaningful ways daily. 

The company holds more than 65 individual brands across ten categories: Fabric Care, Home Care, Baby Care, Feminine Care, Family Care, Grooming, Oral Care, Personal Health Care, Hair Care, and Skin Care. It strives to provide a superior employee value equation like they strive to provide a superior consumer experience. 

Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. is a global corporation that operates on a local level in each community where they do business. Because of the strength of the Coca-Cola system, which includes the company and nearly 250 bottling partners worldwide, they created global reach with a local focus in the Philippines. The products are primarily distributed through Coca-Cola, which manufactures and sells concentrates, beverage bases, and syrups to bottling operations. Coca-Cola also owns the brands and is in charge of consumer brand marketing. Its bottling partners produce, package, merchandise, and distribute finished branded beverages to our customers and vending partners, who then sell them to consumers. 

All bottling partners collaborate closely with customers in grocery stores, restaurants, street vendors, convenience stores, movie theaters, and amusement parks to implement localized strategies developed in collaboration with our establishment.

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P&G (2023), P&G Careers (2023)

MK Slider Philippines Corporation distributes and manufactures General Packaging Products in the thriving and industrialized province of Cavite. It serves the diverse needs of many local and multinational companies in electronics, semiconductors, food, medical, pharmaceutical, and other related industries. With 1,300 product developments, 4,000 products, 30 suppliers, and over 200 customers, MK Slider is a well-known manufacturer of polyethylene & bubble plastic products and corrugated boxes in the country.

Polyethylene is the most widely used plastic on the planet. This polymer is used to make grocery bags, shampoo bottles, children's toys, and even bulletproof vests. It has a very simple structure for such a versatile material, the simplest of all commercial polymers.

Cardboard boxes are industrially prefabricated boxes that are used for packaging. Specialists in packaging goods and materials that can also be recycled. Because cardboard does not denote a specific material, it is rarely used in the industry. Cardboard may refer to heavy paper-like materials, such as card stock, corrugated fiberboard, or paperboard, which may vary depending on the locale, contents, construction, and personal preference.

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Digital marketing allows The GREEN Model to deal with its customers in all touchpoints. The intermediary can improve the process of collecting, transporting, and dropping off plastic waste by dealing with its partners online through its website or application. Thus, it is a way for the company to ensure its quick response and action to keep the active participation between partners, address concerns, and complete transactions promptly.

Impressive digital marketing techniques can help the company become a reference in the industry because it will earn a good website and social media presence. The existing customers could refer the company to other large-scale FMCG firms and plastic producers that could bind more partnerships with The GREEN Model. The company can utilize ads, publications, and blogs to notify wider audiences.

If The GREEN Company has been influential online, it can improve its brand awareness, making the brand known and familiar in the online environment that could potentially excel its current competitors and

gain inquiries, number of transactions, and partnerships.

Investing in digital marketing and advertising can lead the company to boost sales and profitability due to its vast audience reach and acquire alliances from other FMCG companies, plastic producers, and recycling facilities in the Philippines.

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A collection point is a collaboration for the customer companies that prefer to collect their plastic wastes privately, thus within their entity. The GREEN Model can pick up the plastic wastes from the FMCG and plastic producers’ specific branches by booking a pick-up schedule on The GREEN Model website or application.

A drop-off point is a collaboration between the FMCG and the plastic producer companies that want to collect their plastic waste publicly. Our platform will be updated with new information according to the public areas where the FMCG firms may drop off their plastic waste.

Platinum
Partner companies transporting plastic waste with The GREEN Model 7x a month earn the platinum loyalty program. Each pick-up delivery made by the partner company earns 10 points. Fifty points earned can be converted to a free twenty-day extension of the subscribed month.

As stewards of the environment, we are responsible for caring for and preserving our ecosystem. In California, for every job created by recycling collection, eight jobs are created by manufacturing the recovered material into a new product. One ton of recycled plastic saves 5,774 kWh of energy, 16.3 barrels of oil, 98 million BTUs of energy, and 30 cubic yards of landfill space (Stanford University, n.d.). Hence, this motivated The GREEN Model solely to focus on plastic reduction and recycling.

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This includes the potential to improve public health and safety. Reducing the number of toxic chemicals in the environment can help reduce the likelihood of health problems. Furthermore, reducing the amount of waste produced can help to lessen pests and disease-carrying organisms. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change, which was the initial challenge this business venture aims to resolve at the end of the road.

Fixed costs of the business are rent expenses for the warehouse, labor wages of the messengers and other personnel, vehicle and equipment costs, and other fixed utilities.

Variable costs of the business are delivery and shipping charges and packaging supplies.

Hence, the most expensive resources would be truck vehicles to transport bulk volumes of plastic waste. 

Therefore, The GREEN Model plans to control its costs by minimizing operating costs. Since the business scope is only within Metro Manila, one truck vehicle is designated to pick up the waste in two nearby municipalities. Once collected from the FMCGs and plastic producer firms, the plastic waste will be headed to the warehouse and will be shipped to the recycling facilities on a different day. Thus, the delivery schedule of the plastic waste to the recycling firms will be on Tuesdays and Fridays only. This reduces transport and fuel costs since plastic wastes aren't urgent to deliver.

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Environmental Economist 
De La Salle University

"One thing why we are using so much plastic is because of the way we consume goods. Ex. My helper will ask me for a Bear Brand sachet whenever she goes to the grocery store. I asked her, “Why sachet? Why not the one in a can?” So for me, you can buy the can - it is the same - then use it for other purposes after usage. For Filipinos, sachets are much more affordable and usable on a daily basis. For her, the size of the sachet is what she can consume today. This is why people use sachets, as it is more affordable for Filipinos. For other countries, like Americans, they consume things for the long term."

"Segregating trash to reduce plastics is just not effective alone. It is hard. When it comes to our garbage disposals, the way garbage is collected is by segregating plastics, cans, and papers. The problem is the one who collects it will still combine all the garbage, so there is already no incentive for us to really segregate appropriately because of the way it is collected. So even if they collect incentives, it is hard. Because at the end of the day, it is collected aggregately.
It is not the firms that should be doing it because of the added cost of enforcement. It should be the government, but it is also an added cost for them."

"Initiating firms to give incentives is hard because the fact that there will be an added cost for the private sectors would make them think twice. They wouldn’t really say no, but of course it depends on their corporate decisions. It is also hard to say that they will participate. As firms, they want to maximize profits. Some private firms may agree if their main objective is to help the environment. There are firms who will also say no because it is an added cost for them, especially if it is not part of their objectives. For example, P&G and Unilever create plastics for their products. Their reputation for making plastic products can be deferred so they can introduce more environmentally friendly ways of using their products."

Environmental Management Specialist

Solid Waste Management Division
Environmental Management Bureau
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)

"For uniformity, when I talk about large (obliged) enterprises, they must have a minimum of 100M worth of assets. Companies with less than 100M are not obliged to comply with the EPR acts. Going to your question, it promises that there will be good participation from the private sector. Based on the public sector, it doesn’t provide an additional burden of responsibility for the LGUs. The private industries will primarily shoulder the responsibility under RA 11898. The participation of the general public is under RA 9003."

"Expenses are deductible under taxable income/revenue. Tax incentives are just a way to mitigate the additional expenses for the industry in complying with the EPR act. Hopefully, it will motivate them to mitigate the burden from the private industry."

"The responsibility of the national government, particularly the DENR, is to hold the registration of the obliged enterprises and doesn’t have any specific responsibilities. There is elbow room on how they will implement the EPR programs as long as they meet the specific targets."

"Not all plastics are not EPRable. EPRable is the plastic packaging of the products. Most single-used plastics after consumption were thrown away due to the low or no economic value of these items, which explains why they are not being recycled. It is an opportunity for the obligated enterprises if private partnerships exist between the LGUs and the obligated enterprises."

Founder and CEO, PeopleDev International Corporation

Chemical Engineer and Practical Economist

"The project of recycling wastes can be extensive and challenging, but it remains interesting and relevant in the case of the Philippines. Since the venture focuses on transporting the plastic waste, it would be best to start at a small scale before expanding. For example, the initial business initially functions as a logistics facility, without the need to problematize the recycling method of the plastics itself."