Subic Bay Freeport – Recognizing their contribution to the waste segregation efforts of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), 91 utility workers received proceeds from the 14th Recyclables Collection Event (RCE).
During the opening program of the SBMA’s week-long celebration of Zero Waste Month at the Harbor Point Ayala Mall on Monday, these utility workers were given grocery packs as a simple token worth a total of P56,987 from the recyclable materials turned over by Freeport stakeholders.
SBMA Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño said that the recyclable materials were collected from the recyclables generated from Subic Bay Freeport companies, SBMA departments and residents of the Freeport.
He added that the SBMA Ecology Center spearheaded the event, kicking off the month of January as Zero Waste Month Celebration in the SBFZ program that commenced on January 13 and will run until January 17.
“This is a part of our Race to Carbon Neutrality Program and a continuing action for the Agency’s ISO 14001:2015 Recertification,” Aliño added.
Ecology Center Manager and OIC Senior Deputy Administrator for Regulatory Amethya Dela Llana said that the 91 beneficiaries were from Omniworx, the cleaning services provider tasked with cleaning and maintaining SBMA buildings throughout Subic Bay Freeport.
“Why Omniworx? Because they are our waste heroes. Omniworx is our partner in the segregation of wastes at source. They ensure that recyclables are segregated properly, which allowed for the efficient delivery of segregated wastes during the bi-annual RCE for proper disposal through our recyclers,” Dela Llanaexplained.
SBMA Chief of Staff Atty. Von Rodriguez, representing Chairman Aliño, along with Dela Llana and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Provincial Director Enrique Tacbad, were present during the turnover ceremony of the tokens for the 91 Omniworx employees.
Tacbad said that materials such as foil from 3-in-1 coffee sachets or juices in tetra packs are being repurposed to make items such as handbags, wallets, and other fashionable knickknacks that can be sold to consumers.
He added that one example is the Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) business that the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) is currently conducting with the help of the inmates, citing that these fashionable items were made by them using recycled materials.
Proclamation No. 760 series of 2014 declared the month of January as Zero Waste Month celebration.
This year’s celebration, themed “Food Waste No More and Break Free from Plastics,” aims to usher consumers to consider changing their lifestyles and practices, and emulate sustainable natural cycles where all discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use.
