E-Waste ‘To! Iwasto! I-Takbo!

Hundreds of Caloocan City residents today put on their running shoes to support a government-led drive toward the environmentally-sound management of end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment, or what is commonly known as e-waste.

Co-organized by the Barangay Council of Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, the “E-Waste ‘To! Iwasto! I-Takbo!” fun run is part of the “Safe PCB and E-Waste Management Project” being implemented by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). 

“The leadership of Barangay Bagong Silang is conscious of the need to improve the system for managing e-waste in our community and the rest of the country to prevent hazardous waste pollution that can put public health at risk,” said barangay chairperson Joel Bacolod.

“Through this fun-run, we hope to inform more people about the dangers of e-waste and the importance of safely handling, storing, and recycling e-waste so as not to pollute the environment and expose the people, including the informal waste sector, to health-damaging chemicals,” he said. 

As a manifestation of the community support for the “Safe PCB and E-Waste Management Project,” students of Bagong Silang High School and Benigno Aquino Jr. High School, as well as participants from the Aerobics Zumba Club, junkshop cooperatives, government, and civil society groups, joined the three-kilometer fun run.

“Our partnership with the DENR-EMB, UNIDO, IRI and the EcoWaste Coalition will undoubtedly bear good fruit in terms of instilling environmental concern and responsibility among our constituents on safe e-waste management,” Bacolod said.   

“We would like to thank the Barangay Bagong Silang, Caloocan City and the EcoWaste Coalition and for organizing the “Fun Run”. This is a result of the Cooperative Agreement signed for the project entitled “Implementation of PCB Management Program for Electric Cooperatives and Safe e-wastes Management “ by IRI, Barangay Bagong Silang, UNIDO and the DENR-EMB and ensures our support to the Stockholm Convention on POPs. Bagong Silang, is just one of our project sites, other sites are Camarin, Capulong, Tondo and Longos in Malabon and we intend to replicate some awareness-raising activities in the said barangays.”  Dr. Carmela Centeno, UNIDO Headquarters, Vienna Austria.  

“The UNIDO Country Office in the Philippines is glad to be part of this Fun Run, we understand that there were several activities in Barangay Bagong Silang held this week, which includes training/workshop and poster making contest in at least 2 High Schools in Bagong silang, and this together with the e-waste collection with IRI is the culminating activity for the week. These activities are part of the preparations for the establishment of the e-waste facility in Bagong Silang ”, says Ms. Tonilyn Lim, UNIDO Country Representative who delivered the opening remarks. 

The fun run and the launch of the e-waste campaign mascot emphasizes the importance of the campaign on E-waste management. 

The event concluded with the turn-over of collected discarded cathode ray tubes (CRTs) to IRI for proper management.

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