Barangay Bagong Silang in Caloocan City Makes Stride in Safe E-Waste Management

Caloocan City’s Barangay Bagong Silang, the country’s most populous community, continues to make good progress in promoting the safe management of e-waste, the popular name for waste electrical and electronic equipment.

Officials of Barangay 176 and the Bagong Silang Junkshop Credit Cooperative (BSJCC) recently inked an important Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening mutual cooperation toward the proper management of e-waste in order to protect public health and the environment.

Both the Barangay 176 and BSJCC are key participants in the ongoing “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).

“Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bagong Silang remains steadfast in pursuing the path to safe e-waste management,” noted Engr. Vizminda Osorio, Assistant Director of EMB.  “The signed MOU will certainly boost the operations of the pioneering e-waste facility being managed by the barangay where such hazardous waste can be safely stored and dismantled.”

For his part, Joel Bacolod, Chairman of Barangay 176, said:  “The signing of this MOU shows our barangay’s unswerving commitment to reach out to our constituents, especially the informal waste sector, to advance the goals of safe e-waste management. We need the cooperation of everyone to promote the occupational health of our e-waste recyclers and to reduce environmental pollution.”

“Kami po ay kaisa sa mabuting layunin ng aming barangay at ng ating pamahalaan na itaguyod ang ligtas na pamamahala sa mga e-waste upang matiyak na ang aming ginagawang pagbabaklas ng mga e-waste ay hindi magdudulot ng pinsala sa aming mga sarili, pamilya at komunidad,” added Jesus Ortiz, President, BSJCC.

Under the said MOU signed last December 15, the two parties signified to 1) support the enforcement of pertinent laws and regulations on e-waste, 2) launch a series of information, education and training efforts in areas served by the junkshops, 3) conduct an education drive on the proper management of e-waste in the wider community, and 4) provide due recognition to informal waste sector workers as important partners in the concerned programs and activities of the barangay.

During the event, Barangay 176 also received a unit of an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device from the DENR-EMB and UNIDO, which will be used to monitor the presence of toxic flame retardant chemicals such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in e-waste plastics.

The historic event was witnessed by the representatives of DENR-EMB, UNIDO, Integrated Recycling Industries Philippines, and the EcoWaste Coalition.