Mondelez partners with Megaworld for waste collection drive

FOOD manufacturer Mondelez International has partnered with Megaworld Corp. for a waste collection initiative involving the latter’s malls.

The new partnership launched on Aug. 17 will involve a year-long waste collection drive in five Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, particularly Eastwood Mall, Lucky Chinatown Mall, McKinley Hall, Uptown Bonifacio, and Arcovia City. The collection drive began on Aug. 15 in Eastwood Mall.

“Our goal is to make snacks with better packaging, to make it easier to recycle; to use less packaging by optimizing our pack sizes; and supporting improved systems through the collection of as much plastic as we put into the environment,” Mondelez International Country Manager for Corporate and Government Affairs Joseph R. Fabul said in a statement on Thursday.

Further, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls Head Graham Coates said that the company is continuously looking for ways to incorporate environmental consciousness in its township and lifestyle properties.

“Sustainability is in one of our core thrusts as a company, we are always open to collaborating with organizations which promote the same values,” Mr. Coates said.

The new partnership is a continuation of the initiative started by Mondelez and social enterprise Plastic Flamingo (PLAF) in 2020.

Mondelez and PLAF have collected 43,000 kilograms of post-consumer plastic that were repurposed into upcycled products from 2020 to 2021.

“We have worked with the PLAF since 2020 to collect post-consumer plastic for reuse and recycling. Since then, the plastic we have collected has been turned into outdoor furniture which were donated to the City of Parañaque and into eco-boards which are sold by the PLAF to fund further collection activities,” Mr. Fabul said.

For 2022, the partnership is eyeing to collect and recycle another 20,000 kilograms and turn them into usable eco-boards.

“Our work at PLAF consists of collecting, segregating, transforming and designing plastic for reuse. We make practical construction materials out of plastic, like eco-lumber and eco-boards. This ensures that we are able to recycle plastic and at the same time help reduce the use of precious resources like wood or minerals to make furniture or even shelters,” PLAF Chief Operating Officer Erica A. Reyes said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave