To Build Eco-School Ayala, Rotary launch plastic bottle drive

CEBU, Philippines - Aiming to build the first eco-school in the Visayas, Ayala Malls and Rotary Club Cebu Fuente launched the collection drive of 1.5 and 2-liter plastic bottles Monday at the Casino Español.

After the successful Eco-Dash last November 14, 2010 participated by over 1,000 runners, Ayala Malls now aims to collect 8,000 polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles in the month of February.

The four-room eco-school will be built in Sta. Fe, Bantayan Island with the use of 10,000 PET bottles.

For each classroom, 2500 empty soda bottles will be utilized.

Ayala Center Cebu manager Janice Parreño and marketing assistant manager Wilma Entera initiated the launch together with the officers of Rotary Club headed by president Joselito Baring.

“We can use these bottles to build something worthwhile and beneficial to the public,” Parreño told The Freeman.

She said the activity also aims to reduce the concept of waste and apply the 3 R’s of wastes-resource conservation namely: reduce, reuse, and recycle.

“We strictly implement our waste segregation in the mall. Ever since, Ayala Mall is known for its “green” concept. It is also a matter of education for our shoppers as well,” Parreño said.

Parreño said the school will be built on March next year.

She also thanked Rotary Club Cebu Fuente for its support and cooperation.

As of now, 2,000 bottles have been collected.

Cebu International School started the initial collection.

The Bottle School Project is a mall-generated event and a collaboration with partners in the business industry such as Sony Ericsson, Pepsi, and Insular Life.

The project is also part of their Greenology campaign which conducts a series of earth-friendly events designed to remind the public to take care of the environment.

The Bottle School Run was also one of the activities of the campaign conducted to raise funds for the first Eco-School in the Visayas.

The beneficiary of the Eco-Dash was the School of Seas located in Bantayan Island, which teaches the experiential learning on taking care of the seas.

Ayala Malls and Rotary Club invite the public to contribute to the project and to drop off empty bottles to stations located in the mall. (FREEMAN)