Plastic bottle caps of Coca-Cola beverages are now being upcycled to gaskets for water ram pumps under the Agos Program, a water accessibility initiative of The Coca-Cola Company in the Philippines.
“We have always been looking for alternatives to the rubber gaskets for a long time, and we have also tried other alternatives. Then we thought, why not develop the gaskets for the ram pumps with recycled plastic? We started with scrap HDPE pipes and plastic caps from PET bottles,” said Auke Idzenga, AIDFI founder.
Upon realizing that plastic bottle caps can be recycled to make ram pump spare parts, the beverage player’s local bottling partner, Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines, forged a partnership with AIDFI and the Foundation to donate used plastic bottle caps and scrap HDPE to the organization. To date, Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines has turned over 65 kilos of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and 625 kilos of polypropylene caps.
As a grantee of The Coca-Cola Foundation and implementing partner of Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines in the Agos program, the Bacolod-based Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc. (AIDFI) has been developing a ram pump model that is cost efficient and can easily be maintained. Inspired by the Precious Plastic program of Dutch engineer Dave Hakkens, AIDFI started developing small-scale plastic recycling machines.
The Agos program includes the installation of hydraulic ram pumps – a technology that utilizes the force of gravity to bring water to a higher location without the need for electricity or fossil fuel. This brings water into reservoirs, which then supplies the resource into common taps near households.
“This is a great step for the program as it makes one of the most important parts of the ram pump more accessible to the public. Moreover, it is also a positive step in giving used plastic a second life,” said Idzenga.
Using AIDFI’s new innovation, the simple process begins with the shredding of bottle caps into fine-grade material. These are then loaded into the extrusion machine where it is heated before being transferred into a connected mold. AIDFI has successfully developed several sizes of gaskets that are being used for the ram pump’s impulse valve and pressure chambers.
“It doesn’t pop out anymore between the bolts, a problem we would encounter with the rubber gaskets. Also, it’s a lot cheaper and easier to find,” Idzenga added.
Coca-Cola believes that when communities thrive, thebusiness thrives with them. The Company set ambitious global sustainability goal – among them, returning every single drop of water used in the production of its beverages to the environment and communities. The Agos program, launched in 2011, became the project to meet that goal in the Philippines. It has already impacted over 151 water-deprived communities around the country.
In January this year, The Coca-Cola Company set a new global vision of a World Without Waste. The Company is fundamentally reshaping its approach to packaging, with a global goal of collecting and recycling the equivalent of 100% of its packaging by 2030. In the Philippines, Coca-Cola has started this journey by supporting recycling efforts, such as the conversion of bottle caps into Agos ram pump spare parts.