The project is the initiative of the Davao City Bantay Dagat Association, in partnership with the UN-Habitat Healthy Oceans and Clean Cities.
Raffy Bermejo, head of the Bantay Dagat said that all the processes necessary for the project are already accomplished and they are waiting for the release of the P1.6 million as the first tranche, and will also utilize the second tranche to be released 60 percent in early October or late November to establish the MRF.
“We get plastics from the coastal areas and rivers, and the problem is some of it like pet bottles are no longer being bought, so the Healthy Oceans and Clean Cities initiatives partnered with the Bantay Dagat Association and gave us P5 million worth of assistance from the Government of Japan, the funder, to create a material recycling facility that we can use to reuse, reduce and recycle wastes that we get from our coastlines,” Bermejo said in a report from the City Information Office.
Bermejo said that they intend to use the remaining 10 percent to fund their social enterprise activity, which is to use the processed recycled shredded plastic as an ingredient for hollow blocks and grills.
"The product that we eye to produce is hollow blocks and bricks. We will crush it and shred it [the plastics] and the bottles, we will also crush it and mix it with sand and use that to make grill blocks and bricks and sell as construction materials,” Bermejo further said.
He said the bottles he mentioned are those that are often hoarded to be sold to recycling facilities. They plan to incentivize households that will gather the plastic and bottles.
He said they will give incentive to households for those bottles that are not thrown and those that are left unattended, and cannot be sold.
Bermejo said that their idea of incentivizing involves the sari-sari stores in coastal areas. Sari-sari stores will be the collection areas of the wastes.
He said they will teach the sari-sari stores where they will gather the wastes and will make them part of the collection areas.
The wastes gathered by people will be brought to the store and these will be weighed and they will select the goods to buy.
“Of course, it will be equivalent to the value of plastic bottles, for example, if it is worth P10.00 they can buy soy sauce or oil which will be released by the store. The Bantay Dagat Association will pay the store,” Bermejo said.
He also underscored that incentivizing the collection of waste is the way to go, to really persuade people to collect waste.
Bermejo said that they collect about 8 tons of trash along coastal areas.
Bantay Dagat volunteers usually collect mixed waste, about 10 percent of which is plastic, and the remaining percent are materials such as “shoes, clothes, and slippers, and more, he said.
The Bantay Dagat volunteers work four hours every Saturday and are given P1,000 every Saturday for their work.
These Bantay Dagat volunteers also put up their own association, the Bantay Dagat Association which is already registered with the Department of Labor and Employment.
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