With a booming industrial economy, Valenzuela City, in collaboration with Nestlé Philippines Inc., Green Antz Builders Inc., and DepEd Valenzuela, launches a city-wide waste management program all with the help from one of the biggest sources of pollution: Plastics. 

Every year, 400 million tons of plastic is being produced by the industrial sector worldwide, where only 14% is recycled while the remaining 86% are disposed into landfills. The Philippines has an astonishing 163 million sachets of daily plastic waste, where local-level efforts must be doubled and projects must be enforced in commitment to save the environment. 

 “May Balik sa Plastik!”,  the first city-specific residual waste collection program by Nestle Philippines Inc., spearheads one of the many programs by the City Government focusing on solid waste management. This program aims to decrease the amount of waste laminates in the Valenzuela landfill/transfer stations by sorting and collecting waste laminates for co-processing, recycling, or upcycling.

The awareness-driven project’s Ceremonial Launch and Commitment Setting was held at the Valenzuela People’s Park Amphitheater this June 10, 2019, and was joined by the honorable City Officials, DepEd Valenzuela, Nestle Philippines Inc. CEO Mr. Kais Marzouki and representatives, Green Antz President Rommel Benig, Sangguniang Kabataan Federation, Liga ng mga Barangay, City Street Sweepers, public school students, teachers and parents. 

“Nowadays, people tend to recycle the bigger chunks of plastic. You have to remember that [one of] the big sources of waste in the city are the laminates and tetra packs. These are the things that we want to recover back to the system for reuse and repurpose so we can actually lessen the trash volume of the city.” City Mayor Rex Gatchalian said. 

NestléPhilippines Inc.started with the city-specific program with Valenzuela City in line with its global commitment that 100% of Nestlé's packaging will be recyclable and reusable by 2025. Nestlé Philippines CEO Mr. Kais Marzouki affirms that “None of our packaging will ever go to the landfill… Everything will be reused, will be recycled, will be disposed off without impacting the environment.”

The project also embarks on a school-based and barangay-based collection program, complemented by activities that will create awareness and behavior change, information, education and communication on waste management. The project will also run incentive schemes for public schools and city street sweepers. Apart from this, the key take to this successful waste management campaign is not just through the mass collection of plastic waste, but through programs that can change the culture and mindset of repurposing materials for the benefit of communities.