Waste-to-cash program in Cebu City launched

As Cebu City still faces the perennial problem of waste management, its local government welcomed the initiative of a group of global active leaders in collaboration with a sustainable organization from Japan to reduce plastic waste while also generating profit.

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Barrio Luz has been tapped as the pilot area, which Mayor Nestor Archival Sr. has supported. He aims to introduce an incentive scheme based on the percentage of savings to encourage participation from other areas.

The initiative was formally introduced to Cebu City last Saturday by the Junior Chamber International (JCI), composed of young active leaders.

Johnel Luceño, JCI Cebu Vice President for Community Development, said that the project was initiated with their Japanese counterpart, the International Sustainability Development Commission (ISDC), which chose Cebu after assessing its chronic garbage problem.

Luceño said that while Cebu City has an existing ordinance on waste segregation, it hasn't been strictly implemented.

He added that this prompted the ISDC to provide solutions modeled after successful systems in Japan, partnering with SM GUUN, a third-party supplier that transforms waste into fluff fuel—an alternative to coal to reduce carbon emissions.

"We want their trash to be sent to SM Guun. Ang atoang trash naa gyud nay padulngan," said Luceño.

However, he said that the most crucial part of the project is the strict enforcement of waste segregation.