One of the country’s top food product manufacturers, Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation (APC), is starting the new year clean with its new green initiative – SariCycle.
In partnership with the Quezon City Government and avid advocate for proper waste management Basic Environmental Systems & Technologies, Inc. (BEST), the campaign aims to reduce plastic waste in the city through an incentivized approach.
It will specifically target single-use plastic, a product of the plastic industry that contributes the most harm to the environment and human health.
According to QC Mayor Joy Belmonte, the Philippines is the 3rd largest contributor to ocean plastic in the world – the reason why programs like these are needed.
“Given these numbers, the Quezon City Government has been aggressively addressing the problem of plastic pollution and as early as 2019 we have enacted policies that ban the use of plastic bags and single-use plastics,” she said.
“Kapag nagtapon tayo ng plastik sa ating mga dagat, sa inyong mga estero, sa mga creek – nagbebreakdown ang plastik na ‘yan at ang tawag diyan ay microplastic. Kinakain ‘yan ng mga isda na siyang hinuhuli natin at kinakain naman natin,” Belmonte added.
The flexible plastic retrieval program will partner with Sari-sari store owners in the metropolis, acting as deposit banks where people can drop off their collected plastic waste and collect Environmental Points (EP).
These points will be stored in a card provided by the same collection stations and can be exchanged with products, particularly those of Ajinomoto.
APC President Koichi Ozaki said SariCycle is just one of the many programs they have in store to better the Philippines’ environment and the communities within it.
“The SariCycle program is one among many of our initiatives to re-use and manage our plastic waste. Through this program, we are able to support the very communities who made Ajinomoto Philippines a part of Filipino meal times for more than 65 years.