DENR holds 2nd Recyclable Collection Event in Cebu

The concept and practice of recycling took center stage yesterday as the DENR held its Recyclables Collection Event at the Cebu Business Park where plastic bottles, newspapers, and other used materials were collected from the public.

Yesterday's RCE event in Cebu was DENR's second after the one held in Davao City last week. It would soon be taken to Baguio City, and Benguet and Quezon provinces.

DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes graced yesterday's event explaining that the rationale of the project was to help address environmental problems in solid waste management.

Secretary Reyes said that every Filipino produces daily at least 10 kilograms of wastes, and half of these are solid, which would make recycling a better concept amid the rapidly growing population and expanding industrialization.

Reyes said that Metro Manila produces 6,000 tons of solid wastes everyday while Cebu City generates only 450 tons per day. But while 75 percent of these wastes are recyclable, only 13 percent ended up being recycled, he said.

RCE has been an initiative of the private sector that included firms as San Miguel Packaging Specialist, Inc., Maritrans Recycler, Inc., Lihok Pilipina Foundation Inc., Barangay Labangon Women's Network, and Barangay Luz Homeowners Multi-purpose Cooperative.

San Miguel bought clear PET bottles at P12 per kilo and colored PET bottles at P10 per kilo. PET stands for polyethylene terphthalate or a bottle made of thermoplastic resin.

Maritrans, for its part, bought scrap electronics components such as computer's CPUs, motherboards, pure copper wire, copper wire with insulation, and brass scraps.

Lihok Pilipina bought all types of used papers, cartons, tetra-packs, and metals, while the Labangon group bought all tin cans.

Items made from recycled materials were also sold to the public. - Noreen B. Napoles