Century Pacific Food Inc., a leading branded food and beverage manufacturing companies, said Tuesday it has relaunched its Saving Our Seas Campaign that aims to reduce the threat of plastic waste to marine life.
The listed food company will undertake the campaign in partnership with HOPE group through its Aling Tindera Waste-to-Cash program.
“The Philippines is among the top contributors of plastic waste in the world, posing a threat to communities and marine life. Conversely, this presents an opportunity to unlock value in plastic waste and prevent it from leaking into nature by incentivizing critical movers in the cycle and creating a circular economy – a win-win scenario for both people and the planet.”
Carlo Endaya, Century Pacific vice president and general manager for Century Tuna
The new Saving Our Seas campaign has kicked off in Mabini, Batangas, globally renowned for its lush marine life and biodiversity and a haven for scuba drivers. A total of 212 volunteers, including Century Tuna Ambassador Alden Richards and the Century Tuna Superbods, collected 805 kilograms of trash, among the largest volumes collected in the area.
Multiple plastic waste collection points were installed within the coastal areas, where community members can sell plastic trash in exchange for cash. These drop off points are managed by the community’s sari-sari store owners from HOPE’s Aling Tindera Program. These women micro-entrepreneurs accumulate the plastic waste and ensure it is properly recycled and upcycled back into the circular economy. To-date, there are more than 100 Aling Tindera sites in the country.
Plastic waste accumulated from Aling Tindera sites is then sold to the Plastic Credit Exchange, generating income for these women entrepreneurs. PCX is a global plastic solutions platform and credit exchange that has an entire ecosystem of partner companies who can reliably process, recycle, and upcycle post-consumer plastic waste into useful materials or energy.
Century Tuna further aims to extend its reach nationwide, emphasizing the importance of plastic pollution prevention at home.
“Our goal is to engage everyone in the Philippines, even those who may not be near the shorelines, as plastic pollution prevention starts within our homes,” said Endaya.
