Personal Collection’s Recyclable-to-Biodegradable Transition promotes sustainable opportunities in the Philippines

Personal Collection Direct Selling, Inc. (PC) has successfully transitioned from recyclable packaging to the newest biodegradable packaging, making it the first company in the Philippines to do so. PC is leading the drive towards ridding the world of plastics that are harmful to the environment by shifting to biodegradable packaging. Its new biodegradable packaging is estimated to decompose in landfills after only five to ten years, while regular plastic packaging may last for at least a thousand years.

The traditional notion that recycling alone could eliminate plastic waste is being questioned by data from the US Environment Protection Agency (FPA) that Americans, for example, recycle only 35 percent of more than 267 million tons of solid waste every year. According to a 2020 study of the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines, at the national level, only 40% of packaging waste in the Philippines is collected, and only 9% of the plastic waste is recycled.

Keeping this in mind, PC takes a further step by not just going recyclable but also turning to biodegradable packaging. Through the launch of its “A Green Life is A Great Life” movement last June 2020, PC’s network of sellers has been mobilized to advocate for the advantages of biodegradable packaging as their contribution to helping protect the environment. Personal Collection President and CEO Jerome Tuguin said, “We endeavored the shift from recyclable to biodegradable packaging because we believe that this is a sustainable solution that will not only address the major plastic pollution crisis, but will also mitigate many other environmental issues. And we are very enthusiastic to have pioneered this groundbreaking move that also aims to impact the future of every Filipino household.”

PC is also one of the few companies around the world that continues to manufacture the greatest number of biodegradable bottles that are viable for preserving the quality of our environment. Just this December 7, 2021, the company received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, for its invaluable work, strategic measures, and active participation to advocate for environmental protection and sustainability amidst the threats of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jerome Tuguin expressed, “We continue to look into more programs and initiatives to support our #GreenLifeGreatLife movement. Last October, we started our coastal cleanups in some parts of the country, and just recently, we planted more than 70,000 mangroves in over 27.5 hectares of reforestation sites in Pampanga and Bataan.”

As part of PC’s primary environmental advocacy, a long-term partnership with Marine Conservation Philippines was made to conduct coastal cleanups in different areas of the country. Last October 26, 2021, PC facilitated its first coastal cleanup at Albiga Beach, Siaton, in Negros Oriental. Subsequently, the Siliman Beach cleanup in Dumaguete on November 16, 2021 took place, followed by the coastal cleanup in Villareal Beach, Bayawan on December 14, 2021. In all these cleanup activities, tons of plastic waste and other toxic materials were collected.