Pepsi Ayos Pinas! volunteers help build 'bottle school'

MANILA, Philippines - Pepsi’s Ayos Pinas! continues its efforts to build a better Philippines through the Bottle School Project, which aims to build schools – using discarded plastic bottles as construction materials – in Barangay San Jose (Malamig), San Pablo, Laguna.

The Bottle School Project was recently launched as a model campaign to help alleviate the lack of classrooms and schools in the Philippines, and also promote the recycling and reuse of plastic bottles.

The youth members of Pepsi Ayos Pinas! under the volunteer system of Pepsi’s “Sarap Magbago” campaign, helped in the ongoing construction of the first-ever “bottle school” in the country.

“Pepsi strengthens its partnership with the Filipino youth through the Bottle School Project. Instead of using hollow blocks, we use discarded plastic bottles filled with stabilized soil in building the classrooms. Having volunteers is a huge thing because we do not only save on materials but on labor expenses as well,” said Mikey Rosales, brand manager of Pepsi.

Building structures using recyclable items has been a practice in various parts of the world as it is more affordable and environment-friendly. Plastic bottles are ideal construction materials because they are non-brittle and absorb shock loads, thus they don’t easily break.

Pepsi has tied up with My Shelter Foundation, a non-stock, non-profit foundation that seeks to bring low-cost, environment-friendly and sustainable building technologies to the Philippines, in its Bottle School Project.

The organization has brought the plastic bricks technology in the country to build homes and schools.

Illac Diaz, My Shelter Foundation’s social entrepreneur and executive director, expressed his enthusiasm in working with Pepsi for the Bottle School Project.

“Through the Bottle School Project, we would be able to make bigger, greater positive changes in our country one bottle at a time. We are glad to work with Pepsi to provide a sustainable and eco-friendly way of solving the classroom shortage and garbage problem in the Philippines,” Diaz said.

The Bottle School Project likewise got the support of Insular Life and San Pablo City in Laguna. Provincial board members attended the launch.

Ayos Pinas! is part of Pepsi’s “Sarap Magbago” campaign that inspires the youth to channel their desire for change into action that brings results.

With almost 30, 000 volunteers nationwide, it aims to help the Filipino youth get involved in different activities that benefit society.