By Edg Adrian A. Eva, Reporter

Sparklo Technologies Ltd., a Dubai-based environmental technology company, is planning to grow its Philippine network of recycling machines to at least 180 units by the end of the year as it pursues a target of collecting one million plastic bottles and increasing waste recovery in the country.

The company currently operates 38 reverse vending machines, known as Sparklomats, deployed at shopping malls including SM Supermalls and Ayala Malls across Metro Manila and Luzon. Roughly 150 additional machines are planned over the next six months, according to Elinor E. Quilas, country manager at Sparklo Philippines.

"We are planning to expand this year," Ms. Quilas said in an interview at a sustainability expo last week. "Maybe, an additional 150 machines in the next six months."

Sparklo entered the Philippine market in March. Beyond its Luzon footprint, the company already has machines in the Visayas and intends to expand into Mindanao by the end of 2026. Ms. Quilas described the expansion as a response to strong demand and a positive reception from users.

The Sparklomats accept recyclable plastic bottles and award points through the company's mobile app. Each bottle earns 10 points, rewards start at 100 points, and points are redeemable for discounts and promotions from more than 30 online and physical merchant partners. Reverse vending machines are an established collection tool in countries that operate national deposit-return schemes, such as Norway and Germany, where plastic bottle return rates exceed 90%; the Philippines has no nationwide container-deposit program, so Sparklo's model relies on merchant-funded rewards rather than deposits.

"This system is gamified," Ms. Quilas said. "Every bottle that you drop, you can collect 10 points, and those points go to your app."

Sparklo has collected about 100,000 plastic bottles in a month in the Philippines, with collection volumes growing about 21% every two weeks, Ms. Quilas said. The company expects its expansion to help it reach the one-million-bottle target before the end of the year.

"So we are looking forward to collecting one million bottles within this year," she said.

The company was founded by Chief Executive Officer Maxim Kaplevich, whose goal is to collect recyclable bottles at scale by making disposal more convenient and rewarding.

The expansion comes as the Philippines grapples with a large plastic-waste problem. A United Nations Development Programme report found that the country generates about 2.7 million metric tons of plastic waste annually, with about 20% ending up in the ocean. The country is also implementing the Extended Producer Responsibility Act (Republic Act No. 11898), a 2022 law that obliges large enterprises — those with total assets above P100 million — to recover a rising share of the plastic packaging they place on the market, with targets stepping up from 20% in 2023 to 80% by 2028 and compliance typically pursued through partnerships with collectors, recyclers and local government units.

According to Sparklo, bottles collected through its machines are transported to partner waste diverters for processing and recycling. The recycled material can be used in products including new beverage bottles, school furniture, apparel and footwear.

Ms. Quilas said the company is also seeking more partnerships with businesses and organizations that can host its machines, as well as advertising partners.

Sparklo's business model combines recycling infrastructure, consumer rewards and commercial partnerships, allowing participating establishments to provide waste-collection facilities while giving users an incentive to return recyclable materials.

For the Philippines, the challenge will be scaling collection beyond shopping malls and other high-traffic locations while ensuring that recovered plastic is consistently sorted, transported and recycled.