Green Award for Ayala's Trash

URL: http://money.inq7.net/features/view_features.php?yyyy=2005&mon=06&dd=27&file=3

Ayala waste management system cited in World Bank report
Posted: 5:10 PM Jun. 26, 2005 by Christine A. Gaylican, Inquirer News Service
Published on Page B2-4 of the June 27, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

A MONITORING team led by the World Bank has declared Ayala Foundation as Environment Champion, besting other companies with its effective solid waste management system implemented throughout the Ayala group.

The corporate social responsibility arm of the leading business conglomerate was chosen from among Filipino companies that made it to the final list of individuals and groups cited for their contribution to save the environment.

According to former Environment Secretary Elisea Gozun, who is now part of the World Bank's team of consultants for the annual World Bank Environment Monitor Project, this was the first time that the group was giving out awards to these stewards of the environment.

"This is the first for the Philippine Environment Monitor to acknowledge companies and individuals for their exemplary effort to save the environment," shares Gozun.

She notes that mall owners have a big problem with managing wastes produced by tenants with food establishments, but the Ayala Group and its foundation was able to deal with it well.

Ahead of the pack
By as early as 1996, the Ayala Foundation sought the assistance of the Metropolitan Environment Improvement Program and begun implementing an ecological waste management in four buildings it owned in Makati City.

Building residents were encouraged to segregate their waste at source. As building administrators, the company provided a system for the recovery of biodegradable and non-biodegradable components of the waste.

Relationships with buyers of the recyclables were formalized during the same year.
Working with environmental nongovernmental organizations, the Ayala Foundation provided orientation and training to the building occupants on how to segregate waste.

"All the tenants of the Ayala Commercial Center were also required to segregate their waste and implement ecological solid waste management even before the law requiring it was passed and contained in the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2001," Gozun points out.

"They are ahead in this league and it is one of the key points that has to be recognized," she adds.

Extending the campaignBy 2001, the campaign has been expanded to other buildings and firms in Makati City's central business district.

Ayala Foundation sought the cooperation of the Management Association of the Philippines, the Makati Commercial Estate Association and the Ayala Center Association to push the project forward.

The collaboration between the Ayala Foundation, MAP and the Makati Commercial Estate Association and the Ayala Center Association was originally to reduce the non-recyclable wastes by 25 percent in two years.

"Nevertheless, this has been exceeded with waste produced decreasing from 80 tons to 24 tons a day," notes Gozun.

As of July 2002, 160 buildings in the Makati business district have been implementing waste segregation and six buildings were doing their own composting.

There is now an average of 34,600 kilograms of recyclable materials produced every month from this collaboration, Gozun adds.

"It is also worth noting that a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) has been set up within the commercial center--a first in the country--where anyone can bring waste materials for composting or recycling," she says.

The Ayala Town Center in Muntinlupa City, the Ayala Center in Cebu City and the Cebu Business Park had all adopted similar waste management practices.

More firms
The World Bank study also acknowledged other private sector activities engaged primarily in ecological solid waste management.

The Polystyrene Packaging Council of the Philippine is a group of 21 foam polystyrene producers who have set up a recycling plant. The council advocated localized recycling of packaging wastes and as of the year 2003 has recovered 8,000 cubic meters of materials.

Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. (CCBPI) manages a major campaign to promote the recovery of non-returnable but recyclable soft drink containers such as cans. These cans are processed into aluminum sheets and tubes, which can be manufactured into other consumer products including mobility aids for people with disabilities.

In 2002, the CCBPI also began recycling plastic bottles. The recycling program recovered 4.1 million aluminum cans and 3 million plastic containers. In a related effort to its subsidiary Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, San Miguel Corp. is establishing three recycling facilities for plastic bottles.

SMC has recently entered into an agreement with the DENR and the Department of Education to institutionalize the recovery of plastic bottles from public schools in Metro Manila.

The Pulp and Paper Manufacturers Association is collaborating with various sectors to improve the recovery of wastepaper. Several government agencies have an ongoing wastepaper recycling program with Recyclean Foundation.

The foundation collects the wastepaper based on a pre-agreed schedule and returns paper products needed by these government offices.

The Philippine Recyclers Inc., Bantay Kalikasan and the DENR have launched an advocacy campaign to improve the recovery and recycling of lead-acid batteries.

An estimated 30 percent of the 200,000 lead-acid batteries sold in the country are not properly recycled. With more than 50 companies now actively participating in the campaign, there had been 204 tons of lead-acid batteries collected in 2003, 340 tons in the first three quarters of 2004. These are equivalent to 73,759 liters of sulfuric acid and 590 tons of lead prevented from polluting the environment, the study said.
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