Despite COVID restrictions and community lockdowns, Barangay 598 championed sustainability collecting over 5,000kg of plastic waste through their Aling Tindera plastic collection station, which started operations earlier this year. The plastic waste collection station is managed by partner Aling Tindera, Lorme, and supported by Barangay 598 Chairman, Paulito Linis.
Aling Lorme, 65, manages her Aling Tindera plastic collection station while running her sari-sari store and babysitting her two grandchildren, whose mother goes to work in Makati City. Her supportive husband, Tatay Tony, also helps her sort plastic waste according to type, while her daughter goes above and beyond when she comes home with plastic discards collected from her officemates. Lorme also goes above and beyond, using her personal social media pages to invite some of her neighbors to drop off plastic waste.
Like most Aling Tindera partners, Aling Lorme was surprised that PCX would compensate her for collecting end-of-life and single-use plastic waste, such as sachets, e-commerce packaging, and even rubber tires — materials frequently turned down by most recyclers. This has meant not only more income for her, but cleaner surroundings for her community.
Aling Lorme outside her sari-sari store and at her collection station with PCX team and Tatay Tony.
Showing his support for Aling Lorme, a City of Manila Department of Public Services representative said, “Ipinagmamalaki po namin si Aling Lorme at lahat ng ating mga Aling Tindera para sa kanilang mga nagawa para sa siyudad ng Maynila. Sana po ay tuloy-tuloy ang suporta ng mga barangay sa programang ito, para matupad ang mas malinis na Maynila.”
(“We’re very proud of Lorme and all of the partner Aling Tinderas on the ground and how much they’ve done for the City of Manila. We hope that the citizens of Barangay 598 and all other participating and nearby barangays continue to support the program, ensuring a cleaner environment along the streets of Manila.”)
“Lorme is one of Aling Tindera’s biggest supporters, always excited to collect more plastic waste from her neighborhood. In just two weeks after her container was emptied, she was already able to fill it up as she continues to invite more neighbors to work together to clean up their environment while finding ways to make extra income,” said PCX Standards and Compliance Manager, Richard De Guzman.
The Aling Tindera Waste-to-Cash program was launched in July 2020 and looks to engage 100 partners in the City of Manila and even more locations around the metro. This program empowers women to become champions of sustainability in their communities by providing collection points for post-consumer plastic waste that allow for the aggregating, storing, and efficient transportation to partner processing facilities that will ensure plastic does not wind up in nature but reenters the circular economy.
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