Using garbage, a livelihood organization in Surigao Norte produces valuable products
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LOCAL PRODUCTS. Mayor Georgia Gokiangkee (center) of Claver, Surigao del Norte, led the launching of local products of Panatao Plastic Waste Recycling Association made from plastic wastes on Monday (June 3, 2024) in time with the celebration of Philippine Environment Month. The launch is seen as a way to help expand the market for local products and promote environmental awareness among the town's residents. (Photo courtesy of Claver LGU)
Mindanaoherald | Using garbage, a livelihood organization in Surigao Norte produces valuable products | BUTUAN CITY – Utilizing discarded soft plastic, a livelihood organization in Claver, Surigao del Norte has been producing usable items.
The Panatao Plastic debris Recycling Association (PPWRA) was established in 2019 and has since begun producing chairs out of plastic debris that is gathered from various locations throughout the town.
Both the Taganito THPAL Nickel Corporation (THPAL) and the Claver local government unit (LGU) have fully endorsed the group.
In a phone interview on Tuesday, Mirzi Beth Paqueo, the environmental specialist of the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office and the Solid Waste Management Division in-charge of Claver, stated, “The THPAL funded the establishment of a plant worth more than PHP20 million, which was turned over to the LGU in 2019.”
According to Paqueo, the PPWRA oversees and manages the plant, which makes plastic chairs.
The group’s president, Allan Ruaya, stated in a different interview on Tuesday that the THPAL supports the sale of the chairs the company manufactures to the many public schools in Claver.
According to Ruaya, “we were marketing these chairs for more than a year until the pandemic stopped our operation in 2020.”
After more than a year off, he said the group healed and resumed operations.
Ruaya stated, “We decided to expand our market by manufacturing other household products in addition to chairs.”
He said that the group currently uses plastic garbage to make flower pots, plastic bricks and outdoor tiles, sala sets, and plaques.
Under the direction of Mayor Georgia Gokiangkee, the Claver Local Government (LGU) celebrated Philippine Environment Month on Monday by launching the PPWRA’s products. (via PNA)
