COMMUNITIES in Palawan collected more than 70,000 used bottles in just six months under Ginebra San Miguel Inc.’s (GSMI) BOTEful Philippines program, the largest collection recorded under the initiative since it began in 2017.

The Palawan effort, carried out across 21 barangays in Brooke’s Point and Narra, raised total bottles collected under the program to more than 240,000 nationwide. Barangay Tubtub in Brooke’s Point led participating communities with 11,489 bottles collected.

The bottles are turned over to GSMI and brought back into the company’s system for reuse or recycling into new bottles. The program encourages residents and barangays to retrieve empty bottles from homes, public spaces and other collection points, helping keep glass waste out of landfills, waterways and coastal areas.

GSMI said expanding participation is key to making the program more effective, as used glass bottles can only be reused or recycled when they are properly collected and returned instead of discarded as waste.

The program is part of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and San Miguel Foundation’s (SMF) broader push to make sustainability more practical at the community level, using its businesses and local partnerships to promote waste reduction, recycling and resource recovery.

BOTEful Philippines was first launched in Aparri in October 2017, where more than 6,000 bottles were collected. It has since expanded to Batanes, Pangasinan, Negros Occidental, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila and Palawan.

The Palawan leg, launched in September 2025, was carried out with the support of local partners and participating barangays.

“The Palawan experience showed us how much more we can do when communities fully support the program,” said Ramon S. Ang, chairman and CEO of SMC, GSMI’s parent company. “A bottle that is returned can still be reused or recycled. A bottle that is thrown away becomes waste. That is why we want to bring this initiative to more areas and encourage more people to take part.”

Participating barangays and residents received incentives for the bottles they collected, including points that could be exchanged for selected San Miguel Food and Beverage products.

GSMI said BOTEful Philippines supports the government’s solid waste management efforts by promoting recycling and encouraging communities to take an active role in reducing waste.