Biñan City Brings PET Bottle Recycling Closer to Communities Through Coca Cola’s Tapon to Ipon Program

For many Filipino families, the neighborhood sari sari store is more than just a place to buy snacks, drinks, or everyday essentials.

It is also a familiar part of community life. Now, these small local stores are taking on another important role as collection points for used PET bottles in Biñan City, Laguna.

Coca Cola Philippines has brought its Tapon to Ipon PET bottle collection program to Biñan through a new partnership with the City Government of Biñan, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Laguna, and Basic Environmental Systems and Technologies, Inc. (BEST Inc.).

The initiative aims to make PET bottle collection more convenient by placing collection hubs within communities, giving residents a simple way to return their used clear PET bottles while helping strengthen local recycling efforts.

The partnership was formally launched through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing, followed by an Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) session and retailer registration activity in Barangay Canlalay.

For its initial rollout, the program welcomed 50 store owners from 10 barangays, with five participating stores from each barangay.

Turning Local Stores Into Community Recycling Hubs

The idea behind Tapon to Ipon is straightforward: make it easier for people to return their used PET bottles by bringing collection points closer to where they live and shop.

Participating sari sari stores and local retailers serve as community based collection hubs. Residents can bring their used clear PET bottles of any brand to participating stores, where retailers collect and consolidate the bottles for recovery and recycling.

For store owners, the program also provides an opportunity to earn rewards based on the volume of PET bottles they collect.

Collected points can be redeemed for various rewards, including Coca Cola products, online shopping vouchers, food items, and credits that can be used toward utility bill payments.

This approach connects everyday community activity with responsible waste management, creating a system where returning an empty bottle can become part of a regular household routine.

A Community Effort to Strengthen PET Bottle Recycling

The Biñan rollout brings together local government, national government representatives, retailers, and private sector organizations, with each partner playing a specific role in supporting the program.

The City Government of Biñan will help mobilize city and barangay officials and encourage community participation. Coca Cola Philippines will provide participating retailers with collection tools and Tapon to Ipon kits.

BEST Inc. will support collection operations, while the Philippine Association of Stores and Carinderia Owners (PASCO) will help engage participating retailers and the wider local retail community.

Meanwhile, DILG Laguna will take the lead in monitoring the program's outcomes.

During the launch, Biñan City Mayor Angelo Alonte emphasized the city's commitment to the initiative and the importance of getting communities actively involved.

“We assure that the city government of Biñan is committed to this project and ensure that our communities will be deeply involved in the program. The community’s active participation is key to bringing this project to life and ensuring its success,” said Alonte.

The collaboration reflects a broader effort to make recycling more accessible at the community level, where local participation can have a direct impact on collection and recovery.

Helping Residents Return More PET Bottles for Recycling

The program is designed not only to collect bottles but also to help build a more organized recycling system.

Recovered PET bottles from the initiative are intended for recycling, with the goal of bringing collected materials to PETValue Philippines in Cavite, the country's first bottle to bottle, food grade PET recycling facility.

This creates a connection between the bottles collected at neighborhood stores and a recycling process that can turn recovered PET material into new food grade PET packaging.

For residents, the process starts with something simple: keeping used clear PET bottles and bringing them to a participating collection store.

For retailers, it means becoming an accessible link between households and the recycling value chain.

Store Owners Receive Tools and Training

Before taking part in the collection effort, participating retailers were given an orientation covering the Tapon to Ipon program, proper PET bottle collection, and their responsibilities as community collection hubs.

The IEC and registration activity also provided retailers with Cashback Cards, collection bins, Tapon to Ipon kits, and other program materials needed to support their new role.

The goal is to equip store owners with practical tools while helping them understand how proper collection can contribute to the larger recycling system.

With more retailers participating, residents can have additional nearby locations where they can return their used PET bottles instead of allowing recyclable materials to end up mixed with other household waste.

Coca Cola Philippines Highlights the Power of Partnerships

For Coca Cola Philippines, the expansion in Biñan demonstrates how partnerships can help strengthen local collection systems.

Ma. Christine Ponce Garcia, Senior Director for Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability at Coca Cola Philippines, said that building effective recycling value chains requires cooperation among different organizations and communities.

“We know that strong and effective recycling value chains cannot be built by one organization alone. It takes collaboration,” Ponce Garcia said.

She added that the company hopes the partnership will grow and become part of the everyday habits and practices of communities across Biñan.

Her message highlights an important part of the program: recycling systems do not rely solely on large facilities or companies. They also depend on residents, store owners, local governments, and community organizations working together.

Tapon to Ipon Expands Further Across the Philippines

The launch in Biñan marks the expansion of Tapon to Ipon into South Luzon, adding to a program that Coca Cola Philippines says has reached more than 170 cities and municipalities nationwide since its launch in 2021.

The expansion reflects the company's continuing efforts to increase access to community based PET bottle collection and support a more organized recycling value chain.

As more local stores become collection points, programs like Tapon to Ipon can help make bottle recovery a more visible and convenient part of daily life.

What the Biñan Program Means for Residents

For people living in participating communities, the program offers a practical way to take part in PET bottle recycling without having to travel far to find a collection facility.

Residents can bring their used clear PET bottles of any brand to participating Tapon to Ipon retailers. These stores then collect and consolidate the bottles as part of the recovery process.

The program also gives participating store owners an added incentive through its points and rewards system.

At the community level, the goal is simple: make it easier for more bottles to be collected, recovered, and sent into the recycling system.

Building Better Recycling Habits One Bottle at a Time

The expansion of Tapon to Ipon in Biñan shows how small, familiar places can become important parts of a larger environmental effort.

A neighborhood store may seem like an unlikely place to support recycling, but its accessibility can make a meaningful difference. When collection points are located within communities, returning an empty PET bottle can become as convenient as buying everyday essentials.

With the support of the Biñan City Government, DILG Laguna, BEST Inc., PASCO, participating retailers, and local residents, Coca Cola Philippines hopes to further strengthen PET bottle collection in the city and encourage more communities to take part.

The initiative ultimately points to a simple idea: better recycling starts when returning a bottle becomes easy, accessible, and part of everyday community life.

To learn more about Coca Cola Philippines' sustainability and packaging collection initiatives, visit the company's Sustainability Hub.