In Quezon City, quite a few sari-sari shops will quickly have refilling stations of each day necessities in tingi portions to assist curb the worsening plastic air pollution.
Greenpeace Philippines and incubator lab Impact Hub will deliver the Kuha sa Tingi (KST) initiative to the City of Stars, the place an preliminary 30 sari-sari shops, to be dubbed Tindahan ni Ate Joy, can have refill stations to supply each day necessities in tingi portions starting July 1.
According to Eunille Santos of Greenpeace Philippines, 4 merchandise will probably be obtainable for refill: dishwashing liquid, cloth conduction, liquid detergent, and multipurpose cleaner. Customers solely must deliver their reusable containers.
KST goals to offer folks with alternate options to sacheted merchandise within the type of reasonably priced and easy reuse and refill techniques.
Greenpeace Philippines and incubator lab Impact Hub have tapped “several local manufacturers who provided us good quality products at a price that’s low enough for refilling to compete against sachets,” Santos wrote in an electronic mail to GMA News Online.
According to Greenpeace Philippines, over 164 million sachets are used within the Philippines on a regular basis. The plastic downside is so dangerous that microplastics at the moment are confirmed to be floating in Metro Manila air. Last 12 months, microplastics have been additionally present in human blood for the primary time.
“By putting in refill stations in sari-sari shops and redesigning the business mannequin across the wants of the neighborhood, we will make plastic-free items obtainable to Filipinos from all socioeconomic sectors,” said Marian Ledesma, Greenpeace Philippines’ Zero Waste campaigner.
“The collaboration between the Quezon City Government, Impact Hub Manila, and Greenpeace Philippines shows us how cities, communities, and local businesses are taking the lead in tackling plastic pollution by advancing business models based on reuse and refill systems. It’s time for corporations to do their part, too,” Ledesma added.
“Not only should companies reduce plastic production and phase out single-use plastics, but they also have to invest resources to transition to and adopt reuse and refill systems in their operations,” she stated.
Meanwhile, Mayor Joy Belmonte stated “Being sustainable and eco-friendly doesn’t have to be expensive. Our partnership with Greenpeace and Impact Hub only proves that shifting to zero waste and limiting our plastic generation is inclusive, affordable, and accessible to all, including those from socioeconomic sectors and urban areas.”
Aside from KST, the QC metropolis authorities has initiated varied methods to handle the challenges of the plastic waste disaster such because the banning of single-use plastics and plastic bag ordinances, and the Vote to Tote challenge.
KST was piloted in San Juan, the place 10 sari-sari shops have been outfitted with refilling stations between November 2022 to April 2023. The program managed to keep away from greater than 15,000 sachets, Greenpeace Philippines stated. Imagine the quantity of plastics the preliminary 30 sari-sari shops in Quezon City can keep away from.
“Partner stores in San Juan were able to generate product from selling the products and store owners mentioned being able to benefit from the program both economically, as they were able to earn, and environmentally, as they saw the behaviorial shift within their communities to do refilling instead of sachets,” Santos stated.
KST in Quezon City begins on July 1 to coincide with Plastic-free July, an initiative of the Plastic-free basis, which has a imaginative and prescient of seeing a world freed from plastic waste. — LA, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
