CMA CGM Group and The Plastic Flamingo achieve 200 metric ton plastic waste collection target in the Philippines for 2023

• On track to collect and up-cycle 600 metric tons (MT) of plastic waste from the environment by the end of 2025
• Collected plastics are accounted for and up-cycled at The Plastic Flamingo’s new facility which also houses a CMA CGM-funded recycling line
  
• Shaping up a circular economy to mitigate plastic pollution and generate income sources for communities and waste pickers
  

The CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air, and logistics solutions; and plastic recycler, The Plastic Flamingo (THE PLAF), today announced that 200 metric tons (MT) of plastic waste have been collected from Metro Manila and the Pasig River in 2023. This fulfills the annual commitment of the CMA CGM-PLAF 3-year collaboration to retrieve 600MT of plastic waste from the environment by the end of 2025.

Collected plastics are accounted for at THE PLAF’s new upcycling facility
Collected plastic waste is up-cycled by THE PLAF into eco-products at its upcycling facility in Muntinlupa.

THE PLAF’s new up-cycling facility was inaugurated by Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, French Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships and Maria Antonia Yulo- Loyzaga, Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines in August this year.

Sitting on a 1,200-sqm site located within the RMT Industrial Complex, it currently houses the CMA CGM-funded recycling line that transforms riverine plastics and hard-to-recycle plastics sachets into eco-boards.
Furthering its capabilities, THE PLAF plans to add a new recycling line to produce larger eco- boards catering to a wider specification needs for them to be used in construction, interior design and furniture making.
The plant is systematically organized to process and store plastic feedstock as well as finished
products. It also manages riverine plastics which require more rigorous cleaning and handling before the up-cycling process."

Shaping-up a circular economy to mitigate plastic pollution and generate income source Increasingly, THE PLAF’s eco-boards have found favor with responsible builders, architects, and interior designers, who will use them for construction and interior design projects or furniture. Boasting to be cost competitive with termite-free and waterproof properties, THE PLAF’s value propositions drive the economics of plastic recycling; and a circular economy that keeps plastics out of the environment.
As the CMA CGM-PLAF partnership addresses single-use plastics, a major source of ocean pollution in the Philippines, it also has continued to generate an additional income source for PLAF’s network of junkshops and waste pickers in the community.

T Sivakumar, General Manager of CMA CGM Philippines said, “The CMA CGM Group has stopped transporting plastic waste shipment on board all our vessels since June 2022, a pioneering decision and concrete action in reducing plastic waste pollution. Our Group also supports innovative projects through organizations that transform plastic waste into a source of energy and reduce plastic pollution via a global network of local plastic recycling and upcycling initiatives. With THE PLAF, we seek to protect our environment and oceans; as well as empower our communities through the plastics circular economy that they continue to shape up.”
Francois Lesage, Founder of the THE PLAF said, “Thanks to this 3-year partnership with CMA CGM, we are empowered to divert and upcycle 600 metric tons (MT) of ocean-bound plastic waste by the end of 2025. We are very grateful for the continuous support of CMA CGM in this movement
for cleaner and healthier oceans.”