The Safe PCB and E-Waste Management Inaugurates Its Second TSD E-Waste Facility in Brgy. Dampalit, Malabon City

(L-R) Apple Evangelista, Head of Sustainability and Social Responsibility of Globe Telecom, Inc.; Engr. Jun Rivera; Dr. Carmela Centeno, Project Manager of United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); Engr. Geri Geronimo Sañez, Chief of DENR-EMB Hazardous Waste Management Section; Kap. Carlo Jay Dumalaog of Barangay Dampalit, Malabon; and Kap. Ricky Bernardo of Barangay San Agustin, Quezon City pose for the ribbon cutting of the newly inaugurated E-waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal (TSD) Facility at Brgy. Dampalit, Malabon City. ECOWASTE COALITION

In line with the international celebration of the International Waste Pickers Day, the 2nd e-waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal (TSD) facility was inaugurated yesterday in Barangay Dampalit, Malabon, with the goal of protecting the communities, especially waste pickers and traders, from the hazardous effects of improper e-waste handling. 

Informal e-waste recycling has been the primary source of income for several residents of Malabon City, particularly in Barangays Dampalit, Longos, Concepcion, Niugan and Catmon, not taking into consideration theirself , their families, and the communities health and safety from improper dismantling and disposal of electricals, electronic, and equipment waste (WEEE). 

 

Barangay Dampalit currently has six (6) active mangangalakal groups and two (2) junk shops, and the establishment of this TSD facility aims to provide training on informal e-waste processing and its associated risks to human health and the environment. Its establishment will give informal waste workers an opportunity to be part of the format sector, where there is an access to a safe working environment and operation that offers them sustainable livelihood, without the known adverse impacts. “We are beyond grateful for being one of the chosen beneficiaries of the project. This new TSD will extensively contribute to the lives of our constituents who are working in the informal e-waste sector. More than alleviating some of their labor burdens, it will also give them access to a safe and humane working environment,” Kap. Carlo Jay R. Dumalaog of Barangay Dampalit added.

“This new TSD in Barangay Dampalit is the second community-based facility for e-waste that was established under the project. Scalable and replicable to other barangays in properly managing E-waste in accordance with our existing law, ” explained Engr. Marcelino Rivera, Jr Chief EQMD DENR-EMB. 

As one of the private partner of the project, Yoly Crisanto, Globe Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP for Corporate Communications says “It’s always best to join hands with partners who share the same vision and commitment of doing a #GlobeOfGood by making our planet a safe space to live in not not only for today, but most especially for the next generations. To further support the informal e-waste workers by creating a safe working environment for them, Globe will also provide e-waste bins and  online financial and health services to the local communities, such as G-Insure, GCash, KonsultaMD, and HealthNow.”

The Philippine’s PCB-WEEE project is a response to our obligation under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), and it has two components: PCB and E-waste. The E-waste project has gone way and beyond in achieving its goals and it has been a major milestone for us. The launching of TSD facilities, on the other hand, is yet another accomplishment, especially seeing people on the ground making a difference. This is the objective of UNIDO – to make sure that we create a better environment for us and the future generations, “ Dr. Carmela Centeno, Project Manager of UNIDO, concluded.

This groundbreaking facility was made possible through the hard work and dedication of the  multi-stakeholder partnership composed of Globe, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Integrated Recycling Industries, Inc., Ecowaste Coalition, and the local government unit, under the “Implementation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) Management Programs for Electric Cooperatives and Safe E-waste Management” project.

The Dampalit TSD facility will start its full operation on March 15, 2022. It aims to process at least 10,000 CRTs or glass video displays from computers and television sets in its first year of operation.