MOU signing between DENR-NCR AND PCEx: Jacqueline A. Caancan, CESO III regional executive direction, DENR National Capital Region; and Nanette Medved-Po, founder and chairwoman, The Plastic Credit Exchange.
In response to the government’s call-to-action on rehabilitating Manila Bay, Plastic Credit Exchange (PCEx) and The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), with the support of the PepsiCo Foundation,partnered to roll out a long-term ‘AlingTindera’ coastal cleanup program. PCEx Chairperson Nanette Medved-Po and DENR Regional Executive Director Jacqueline A. Caancan announced the strategic partnership at the DENR headquarters in Quezon City.
Through this initiative, PCEx incentivizes fisherfolk and their families to ‘catch’ plastic waste in and around Manila Bay and sell these in exchange for cash at AlingTindera collection points stationed along coastal areas. The AlingTinderas (women sari-sari store owners) aggregate the plastic, and then turn a profit by selling these to sustainability-conscious companies through PCEx.
DENR data has shown that five days of coastal cleanup on the Manila Bay island could yield 16,000 kg of trash, the bulk of it plastic sachets. With increasing concern about safety and cross-contamination due to COVID-19, there has been a heightened demand for single-use plastics, which means that hard-won environmental measures to rehabilitate Manila Bay have once more been undone.
Learn more on www.plasticcreditexchange.com.
