Iloilo City’s solid waste management strategies will be shared during a Netherlands-supported ecological undertaking in March.
In a letter to Mayor Jerry Treñas dated January 17, Makati Business Club (MBC) Chairman Edgar O. Chua stated the partnership between MBC and the Embassy of the Netherlands will hold the high-level event entitled, “Circular Cities: Best Practices and Opportunities for Private-Public Initiatives,” on March 16, at 10am – 11:30am.
More than 50 participants composed of Local Government Unit (LGU) officials, business sustainability officers and professionals, and waste management enterprises are expected to attend via Zoom, which will also be livestreamed on Facebook.
“MBC’s Circular Economy Program would like to invite you as one of our speakers in an online forum to highlight Iloilo City’s strategies for managing solid waste, particularly the material recovery and composting facilities, and your plans to develop a waste-to-energy facility,” Chua wrote Treñas.
“The forum aims to spotlight cities with ongoing circular economy efforts and present opportunities for business-LGU partnerships. Thus, we believe it would be valuable for businesses and fellow LGU officials to hear lessons in implementing Iloilo City’s specific projects, what plan to do next, and how the business sector can work with you in your commitment to achieving plastic neutrality,” stressed Chua.
MBC stated the 2021 World Bank report cites that about 78% of the potential value of recyclable or reusable plastics produced domestically is lost each year due to the Philippines’ lack of capacity to process it.
Other studies indicate that there are similar “recycling gaps” in other forms of waste as well.
The forum will discuss good practices applied by cities aligned with a Circular Economy, such as the following:
- Setting goals and incentives for circularity practices;
- Prioritizing renewable resources and restoring local ecosystems;
- Designing infrastructure, processes, and products to minimize material, water, and energy use
- and waste generation from production to end of use;
- Collecting and sorting waste to facilitate recovery and re-entry into industry; and
- Assisting the informal waste sector to have improved working conditions.
“We officially endorse the Makati Business Club as our partner for the ‘Transition to Circular Economy’ Program. With the urgency in addressing environmental and climate issues, the Netherlands Embassy recognizes that a circular economic model is a crucial and urgent solution for climate action which needs the collaboration of the public sector, private sector, and civil society,” said Robert van der Hum, deputy head of mission of Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Philippines.
“This aims to inspire corporate action, multi-sectoral collaboration, scalable solutions, and public-private partnerships in the transition to a circular economy. We hope that you can support us in this endeavor and contribute to the Philippines’ transition into a more circular and environmentally-sustainable economy,” he added. (Iloilo City PIO)
