Raising the bar in materials recovery

Raising the bar in materials recovery | Daily Tribune

The Enhanced Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) at the Biñan Ecopark, Laguna is now a factory that fabricates building materials out of plastic waste. With its makeover complete, the MRF’s mechanized sorting lines, plastic crushers and baling machines will convert discarded plastic bags, sachets and other packaging into composite building materials that can be used for construction and furniture production.

“This facility reflects what’s possible when we rethink how systems work — from collection to recovery,” said Christopher Ilagan, corporate affairs head for PepsiCo Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and North Asia, during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the upgraded MRF last 26 June 2025. “It’s a practical step toward reducing our environmental footprint and building a future where waste is managed with purpose, not as an afterthought.”

“This is what we mean when we talk about a market-based virtuous cycle. When waste has value, more people are incentivized to recover it. And when systems are in place to reliably transform plastic into high-quality secondary products, the cycle sustains itself,” Ilagan added.

An offshoot of pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) sustainability framework, the facility is the latest milestone in the Loop Lokal project, a public-private partnership announced in 2024 to transform the way communities collect, process, and reuse post-consumer plastic waste.

Since its inception, Loop Lokal has regularly collected plastic waste across 31 communities. But more than collection, it’s about diversion: Waste is upcycled into functional products, reentering the economy as valuable goods such as furniture, construction materials, and more. The upgraded facility now integrates previously idle government-supplied equipment, breathing new life into infrastructure once underutilized.

“We didn’t just install equipment — we made it work for the context, for the city, and for the communities that will sustain it,” said Erica Cardoso, managing director of Evergreen Labs Philippines, a partner to the project. “All types of plastic — shopping bags, sachets, multilayered packaging — are being sorted, processed, and sent to their highest-value uses… Plastic here no longer ends in landfills — it reenters the economy with purpose.”

The enhanced facility directly supports the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility Act (EPR), serving as a replicable model for sustainable waste management across the country.

The integration of social enterprise ReForm Plastic’s technology enables modular and scalable recycling processes that local governments can adopt.

Congressman-elect and former City Mayor Atty. Arman Dimaguila, who joined the ribbon-cutting event, underscored the importance of sustained collaboration among sectors.

“The way I see it: If all private companies with advocacies, the local government, and the national government would focus on working together consistently and putting their resources and expertise toward a common goal… we will excel everyday. Others will need to believe in us.”

This is exactly what we are showing right now — what true partnership looks like in action. And this is what we want to share with others: That when everyone comes together with a shared purpose, we can create progress that no single sector can achieve alone.

Echoing this spirit of cooperation, Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Service director Al Orolfo expressed support to the city’s circular economy initiatives.

City Environment and National Resources Office Department head Rodelio Lee also stressed the local government’s commitment to supporting homegrown obliged enterprises hosted by the Laguna International Industrial Park and the Laguna Technopark in complying with the EPR Law.

Meanwhile, Evergreen Labs announced plans to open more pre-processing facility in continuous collaboration with PepsiCo Philippines, to further expand the reach of the Loop Lokal initiative and solidify the long-term vision of an inclusive, circular economy.

“We are building not just infrastructure, but momentum,” said Cardoso. “You are not just part of the solution — you are the reason it works.”