The NEXCITIES Project News
Restore our Earth Session 2: Plastic Waste Management
In continuation of Earth Day celebration, the Society for the Conservation ofPhilippine Wetlands (SCPW) and Project NexCities conducted the Session 2 of Restore our Earth: Wetland Restoration thru Circular Economy, this time focusing on Plastic Waste Management on April 29,2021.
The topic in this session is very important, as Ms. Amy Lecciones of SCPW mentioned “about 381 million tons of plastic waste annually and this is set to double by 2034. 50% of this is single-used plastics and only 9% has ever been recycled. Today, almost all the plastics around the world end up in waterways and eventually the oceans.”
The session’s resource speaker was Dr. Kevin Roy B. Serrona from Prince George’s County Government, Department of Environmental Resource and Recovery Division, Largo, Maryland, USA.
The panelists are Mr. Albert A. Magalang of DENR Climate Change Division, Mr. Paul T. Puthenpurekal of Community EcoHub: Integrated Waste Management Solution ; Ms. Lavin Gonzaga of Unilever Philippines, and Engr. Joshua F. Ulo of Villar Sipag.
While they all discussed plastic management, our speakers and panelists all came from different industries, giving a wider perspective on the issue of plastic waste and shared different stories.
Our resource speaker Dr. Serrona showed the county-wide waste management scheme in George County, highlighting their materials recovery facility and composting equipment and how waste is managed in George County in Maryland. He also talked about the pathways to sustainable plastics which includes use of eco-friendly bags., use and reuse of glass, intensified waste management education, and having more infrastructure for recycling.
Ms. Lavine Gonzaga of Unilever talked about the company’s efforts in recycling and waste reduction, then Mr. Joshua Ulo of Villar Sipag presented on Villar SIPAG’s recycling facility and the products it produces from recovered plastic (chairs).
Mr. Paul Puthenpurekal of Grren Antz presented the Community EcoHub- a project under the Clean Cities, Blue Ocean program of USAID. Tying all the topics together and giving a global perspective on plastic waste is Mr. Alber Magalang- he covered the topics on transboundary problems and the recommended global response and key considerations in crafting the treaty among countries.
As the problem of wastes continues to plague us, hearing about efforts, especially local ones gives hope that there is a solution. Hopefully, more initiatives like the ones are developed as we move forward to the future.
Converting wastewater into nutrient-rich fertilizer for a better city of the future