+ BACKGROUND, CHALLENGES AND OBJECTIVES
Thousands of low-income residents of the city’s urban population make a living from recovering recyclable materials. This comes as no surprise since the recycling and collection industry is a zero-cost service that allows many to profit simply from collecting recyclable waste. However, reliance on junk shops or waste recyclers does very little on the behavior of people as there is still a tendency to ignore segregation at the household level. And with the COVID-19 pandemic increasing the volume of waste from single-use plastics, which are not accepted by most recyclers, the challenge of waste reduction at the source magnifies.
As the city generates over 2,000 tons of municipal waste each day from its more than 3 million residents, the City Government recognizes that the effective approach to addressing the increasing waste generation in the city should involve two main points – the actual volume of waste and the people’s attitude toward wastes. The city also believes that sustainable solutions to address waste management concerns can only make an impact when it is implemented with robust partnerships with stakeholders from all sectors in the community, thus, the city continues to innovate and find solutions that are inclusive and suitable to the needs of the public.
With this in mind, the Quezon City Government, in partnership with Basic Environmental Systems and Technologies, Inc., introduced the Trash to Cashback Program that allows citizens to actively participate in the recovery of recyclables and single-use plastics from the waste stream. The program centers on shifting the behavior toward waste segregation by incentivizing individuals that segregate at sources, such as households or offices, and exchange their recyclables at the trading booths for Environmental Points or EPs that can be used to (1) pay for utility bills such as electricity, water, internet services, and the like through the Bayad App, and also (2) buy grocery items through the Trash to Cashback Mart and (3) order food deliveries from the partner merchants.
Anchored on what the city has committed in its Enhanced Local Climate Change Action Plan (LCCAP) 2021-2050, the Trash to Cashback program is one of Quezon City’s strategies in attaining its climate change mitigation target which was set at 30% reduction in the city’s carbon emission by 2030, along with the city’s climate change adaptation goal of building on and strengthening the resilience of natural ecosystems and communities against risks and threats from the changing climate while maximizing mitigation opportunities. Aligned with the Enhanced LCCAP’s priority climate actions, the program aims to:
1. Reduce the City’s urban waste impact on the environment and ecosystems
2. Encourage Quezon City residents to practice a more sustainable lifestyle through incentivized recycling
3. Provide an opportunity for additional financial support, especially for those affected by the pandemic
4. Mobilize citizens, groups, communities, and the private sector to work towards a circular economy, prioritizing organic, paper, and plastic waste recovery.
+ ACTIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION
Collaboration with different stakeholders is given importance as the program is anchored on the principle of inclusivity. The success of the Trash to Cashback initiative hinges on establishing partnerships with stakeholders through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreements, which ensures the initiative’s continuity and sustainability.
Starting with the establishment of a formal partnership with Basic Environmental Systems and Technologies (BEST), Trash to Cashback was launched in March 2021. Through this partnership, recyclable trading was made more accessible and convenient to residents by putting up trading booths in each district and in select business centers within the city. In December 2021, the City Government signed another agreement with BeepXtra and Bayad Center to expand the benefits of the program by allowing residents to use their Environmental Points to pay for utility bills. As of June 2022, the following are the city’s partners implementing the program:
● Basic Environmental Systems and Technologies Inc. (BEST) – as the City’s main partner in program implementation
● BeepXtra Philippines and Corporate Information Solutions (CIS) Bayad Center Inc – for the utility bills payment
● Alaska – for the collection of single-use plastics and provision of additional incentives
● San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation – for the collection of glass bottles and provision of additional incentives
● Meralco - for the electricity bills payment and for hosting the trading booths at the Meralco Business Centers in Quezon City
The number of transactions and volume of recyclables traded has been continuously increasing since it started. With only around 7,000 kilograms of recyclables and single-use plastic traded during the first 5 months of the project in 2021, averaging almost 1,800 kilograms collected each month, this volume has increased to an average of 4,000 to 5,000 kilograms per month in 2022 – a clear indication that the program is constantly gaining traction, which can be attributed to the continuous awareness campaigns conducted by the City. These campaigns, which aim to increase community participation, include the following:
● Door-to-door recyclables exchange drive conducted in communities during the early phase of the program,
to complement the City’s aid activities to help those affected by the pandemic, especially the marginalized sector
● A recyclables trading competition opened to all barangays and city government offices and departments was launched in September 2021.
The competition was participated in by the city’s .142 Barangays, 6 District Action Offices, and City Offices and Departments.
● Intensified orientations in Barangays, Schools, and other stakeholders followed by pop-up trading events that started in 2022
+ OUTCOMES AND IMPACTS
The program initially served as an alternative means of financial support for the marginalized sector affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Introduced through door-to-door campaigns, residents were able to exchange their recyclables for Environmental Points to be used to purchase basic commodities such as rice, eggs, and vegetables. Trash to Cashback has evolved to a more systematized approach by establishing regular trading events and online points and redemption system. A mobile application is utilized for this program, which serves as the platform that enables residents or Eco-warriors to monitor their accounts and redeem their points for grocery items via the online store and also allows payment of utility bills at the convenience of their own homes. This digitized process has ensured safe and equal access to economic resources and basic services for all especially those in the marginalized sector.
As of date, the City Government has entered into formal partnerships with the following:
● Basic Environmental Systems and Technologies Inc. (BEST) – as the City’s main partner in program implementation
● BeepXtra Philippines and Corporate Information Solutions (CIS) Bayad Center Inc – for the utility bills payment
● Alaska – for the collection of single-use plastics and provision of additional incentives
● San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation – for the collection of glass bottles and provision of additional incentives
● Meralco - for the electricity bills payment and for hosting the trading booths at the Meralco Business Centers in Quezon City
Only a year after the program’s launch, the city has already been able to establish ten (10) regular trading booths – one (1) located at the Quezon City Hall, three (3) at Meralco Business Centers and six (6) have been put up at the District Offices of Quezon City (one per District). More than 9,000 transactions have been handled by these booths, with over 73,955 kilograms of recyclables and single-use plastics traded. This volume is equivalent to 245,899.42 Environmental Points or Php 245,899.42, which have been credited to the individual accounts of the city’s Eco Warriors, on top of the points, food items such as bars of Eden Cheese, packets of Tang Orange Juice, and Alaska Milk and jars of Kraft Chiz Whiz were given as incentives. With the inclusion of the acceptance of glass bottles through the Balik Bote initiative, which was introduced in June 2022 in partnership with San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corporation, the expected volume of recyclables recovered will continue to grow, as seen in the first two (2) weeks of its launch wherein more than 400 kilograms of bottles have been traded and more than 130 jars of 425g Cheezee spread were given to the Eco Warriors.
In addition to the ten (10) trading booths currently operating, pop-up trading events are simultaneously organized in barangays and schools to widen the reach and increase the benefits and impacts to more members of the community. These pop-up booths have resulted in a high participation rate and volume turnout of exchanged recyclables as residents of the requesting barangays are given at least a week to prepare their recyclables for trading. By end of June 2022, eleven (11) pop-up trading events have been carried out, generating more than 4,500 kilograms of recyclables and single-use plastic traded, which translates to over 6,300 Environmental Points or Php 6,300.
Furthermore, campaign signages, posters, and tarpaulins left behind by the recent national elections that were collected during the City’s cleanup operations, were accepted through a pop-up trading booth that was put up at the Manila Seedling Bank, the temporary disposal area of the campaign paraphernalia. Approximately 800 kilograms of election materials were exchanged, equivalent to over 300 EPs.
+ REPLICABILITY AND SCALABILITY
Quezon City was the first local government unit that entered into a partnership agreement with Basic Environmental Systems and Technologies, Inc. in the implementation of the Trash to Cashback Program in March 2021. Citing the success in Quezon City, the initiative was replicated, through the City’s partner, in other cities/municipalities, government agencies, schools, and groups of companies. With its straightforward, easy-to-understand approach, the Trash to Cashback scheme has since then been adopted by other local governments as a doable waste reduction strategy, especially for single-use plastics. Private companies have also expressed their desire to implement the program in their respective establishments.
As Quezon City continues to promote this program as part of the waste recovery and circular economy initiative, Trash to Cashback will be continuously rolled out to the City’s 142 barangays, schools, government, and private institutions to increase its accessibility to residents within and outside the city. Its potential for replication is endless as the approach proved to be effective in bridging the gap in solid waste management.
+ BUDGET SOURCE
An important component of the program’s success is the multi-stakeholder collaboration that enabled Trash to Cashback to run sustainably for more than a year. With a very limited budget expended from March 2021 to the present, amounting to only Php 1,038,200 or around USD 18,400, the City Government through the supervision of the Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department, leveraged its partnerships with the private sector and relationship with the community stakeholders to successfully establish and operate ten (10) regular trading booths and organize 11 pop-up trading events and several community orientations.
Furthermore, no additional budget is spent on promoting the program since social media is being utilized to boost awareness and improve community engagement. Free registration for Quezon City employees and citizens has also been regularly carried out by the Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department to increase the participation of residents.
