“What we need are systemic changes that complement our ‘sayang’ mentality.”
Every Pinoy household has that one drawer. You know, the “one” – filled with plastic bags, a pile of ice cream tubs, and three generations of Nokia chargers.
Our households are filled with these knickknacks because we always think, “uy, sayang!.” It’s the Filipino heartbeat of regret over wasted potential, when we keep things to use in the future — “just in case.” Panghihinayang is inherently Pinoy. Our Japanese neighbors, similarly, has a principle called mottainai, which means “what a waste!.” It has then become a global sustainability movement, rooted in deep appreciation for resources and a collective mentality to maximize the use of products to its full potential. This results in mindful consumption by reusing, repairing, and recycling.
Our Pinoy parallel, the “sayang” mentality, is anchored on keeping things because we “might need it someday.” Linguistically, it also springs from scarcity: the economic struggles of everyday Filipinos that make us fixate on “saving.” For example, those small leftover soap bars hold tomorrow’s value when pieced together. Studies such as the one done by Teresita Barrameda of University of the Philippines Diliman highlights the fact that saving little things that may seem to have no value, holds survival significance in our culture.
We tend to keep a lot of stuff in our drawers as we wait for that prime opportunity where we can get the best out of them. Our moms neatly fold plastic bags in cute triangular shapes (where did they even learn this?), a geometrically efficient way of keeping these bags so we can easily pull out one when we need them. We keep ice cream tubs to use in freezing ulam from this weekend’s cooking, which can also morph into sewing kits or junk repositories. But what do we do with electronics from years ago that can no longer be saved or repaired? While we wait for that window of opportunity to use them, they are just stored in our drawers, “hibernating”, as we face barriers in finding new use for them. Is there a better use for them, instead of idling indefinitely in someone’s drawer? Can personal clutter be turned into cultural flutter, a gentle movement towards sustainability?
There seem to be two main reasons why these things remain as scraps instead of potential resources: lack of awareness and inconvenience.
Many are not aware of post-consumer businesses that handle these products. There are already existing (and with an increasing number of) business models that deal with post-consumer products. Social media and online platforms, such as Carousell, provide avenues where we can sell pre-loved items. Some online platforms are even willing to buy your old phones. There are boxes in convenient places to drop off electronic waste. Repair shops help us extend the life of the “hibernating” products in our drawer. Need a patch on those pants with a hole? Go to a seamstress. Sole separation in shoes? Go to a shoe repair store. Most of us are just not aware of the existence of these post-consumer businesses. Second, we live busy lives and it is often inconvenient to purposefully find use of our used items. In our fast-paced life, we can no longer find the time to search the internet or post on social media. Even if we find a way, the effort needed is too much for the value we can get in return.
What we need are systemic changes that complement our “sayang” mentality. We need to raise awareness on where to bring our items and what items can be sold, repaired, or refurbished. Given there is already a demand of these services from our “sayang” mindset, information dissemination is the missing link in promoting post-consumer businesses. These business models have multiple beneficial impacts on society as they help reduce waste thrown into landfills while also promoting economic activities, giving employment opportunities. Another change we need is a robust reverse logistics or a supply chain from consumers to businesses. As long as inconvenience outweighs the item’s value, people don’t have the motivation to deliberately bring used item to a store. Having an easily accessible channel will make collecting and processing post-consumer items easier.
Let us cherish our “sayang” mindset and embrace the ways we can make the best of our products.
Dr. Ivan Gue is the Chairperson of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gokongwei College of Engineering, De La Salle University. Dr. Jonna C. Baquillas is an Associate Professor at the Department of Marketing and Advertising, Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business in the same university. They are engaged in research and projects focused on circular economy, sustainability transitions, and sustainable consumption and production.
The views expressed above are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.
