"We are proud to know that schools are actively doing their share to help solve our garbage problem. Students and parents as well are involved in the awareness campaign in maintaining cleanliness and in making money out of junk," said Abalos.
In her latest report to Abalos, Bonifacio Javier Elementary School principal Mae Nalaunan said the school has already sold 33,523 kilos of assorted recyclable materials such as old newspapers, white paper, bottles, plastic, cans and phone directories.
Under the Bonifacio Javier waste segregation scheme, students separate recyclable from non-recyclable materials. There is a regular collection of recyclable materials every Friday by interested buyers. The principal said that prices are P2.70 per kilo for newspapers; cartons, P2 per kilo; white paper, P5 per kilo; directories, P1 per kilo; while bottles and cans are bought per piece.
"Every month, we earn an average of P5,000-P10,000 out of selling what seems to be waste products. We were surprised to know that eight months after we initiated the project, we generated a total of P77,000."