Plastic Bank, a Canada-based social enterprise that runs a bottle deposit program, is looking to sign up more Philippine companies as partners as it works to scale incentives for collecting plastic waste, positioning the effort as a way for businesses to meet their extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements. EPR is a regulatory framework that makes companies responsible for collecting and recovering the plastic packaging they place on the market; the Philippines codified such obligations for large enterprises into law in 2022.

“We continue to invest and create the opportunity to invite more Filipino companies to participate,” Plastic Bank Founder and Chief Executive Officer David Katz told reporters on the sidelines of a forum held by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) on Wednesday.

Established in 2013, Plastic Bank operates as a social fintech — a financial-technology venture built around social impact — that tracks used plastic bottles, which collectors can exchange for money and access to social benefits. The company uses a blockchain-secured platform to trace the bottles it collects, with the recovered material recycled back into the circular economy, an economic model built on reusing and recycling materials rather than discarding them.

As of August 2026, Plastic Bank has recovered two billion plastic bottles in the Philippines, equivalent to 45 million kilograms, or roughly 45,000 metric tons. Its local partners include Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines, Inc., CDO Foods, Inc., Pacific Synergy Food and Beverage Corp., and S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., along with food and beverage companies such as Wendy’s Philippines, Conti’s Bakeshop and Restaurant, and Goldilocks Bakeshop Philippines.

Beyond the Philippines, Plastic Bank also operates in Egypt, Thailand, Brazil, and Indonesia.

Dawn F. Cabigon, who heads the ECCP’s international trade fairs division, said Plastic Bank’s bottle collection program aligns with the chamber’s push to promote circular economy practices in the Philippines.

She noted the ECCP’s partnership with the EU Delegation to the Philippines under the EU-Philippines Green Economy Partnership, a 60 million-euro grant from the EU to the Philippine government to support the country’s transition to a green economy.

“We cannot solve waste in the current system that we have. It has to be in a green economy… and it needs new systems, technologies, solutions, as well as a mindset change,” she added.

— Beatriz Marie D. Cruz