Creative, practical projects as green initiatives

MANILA, Philippines - Need ideas for one-of-a-kind footwear fashioned from old materials?

You might be inspired by what the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) at Silangan Mindanao Mining Company, Inc. (SMMCI) is doing.

SMMCI is located at the tip of northern Mindanao in the province of Surigao del Norte, Caraga Region

The environment team of SMMCI turns garbage into beneficial items, such as old boots recycled into slip-ons.

The team is also into waste management and the propagation of various plant species and exotic fruits, especially in its area of operation, to help protect the environment.

“No waste segregation, no collection!” is the mantra of Alfa Moog, environment manager at SMMCI’s Silangan project, within the camp premises of the company.

As the operator of Philex Mining’s Silangan project, SMMCI combines the development of Boyongan and Bayugo deposits in Surigao del Norte.

“Whenever I go around the project site to supervise environment projects, I really check on the assigned garbage areas and remind people about proper waste segregation,” Moog says. “This makes it easier for us at MRF. We don’t spend so much time separating recyclable materials from rubbish.”

Besides transforming the worn-out, steel-toed rubber boots that employees discard after about six months into sandals, the team also uses the boots as ripraps to stabilize sloping land areas. Hard hats, on the other hand, are transformed into flowerpots while reflectorized vests are cut up and weaved to be used as a component for silt-traps.

Other non-biodegradable and recyclable wastes are also utilized in other forms. Tin cans and plastic containers, for instance, are collected and turned into dustpans and garbage bins, while worn-out tires are transformed into big pots for plants. 

Likewise, vegetable and fruit peels, food scraps, and other biodegradable wastes generated from staff houses, workers’ quarters, offices, kitchens, gardens, and farms are fed to cultured earthworms in MRF’s vermiculture house. The castings, also known as vermicast, are high-value, organic fertilizer needed for the forest, plant nursery, and the 3.7-hectare rice farm in Silangan project.

Currently, recipients of the recycled dustpans and trash trays are the municipality of Malimono, Surigao del Norte, and two military battalions stationed in the province.

The soldiers also distribute the donated items to the communities during their civic works.

Moog says that as of last June, the agro-forest nursery under her care has a stock balance of 16,098 assorted seedlings, ranging from forest to fruit trees like durian, jackfruit, sweet tamarind, and rambutan; endemic trees such as antipolo, anislag, pange, bahai, and sagimsim; and a number of exotic trees like acacia mangium, golden shower, acacia auricoliformis, and mahogany, to name a few.

For the first half of the year, a total of 15,940 seedlings have been planted within the company premises while another 1,000 seedlings have been donated for tree-planting activities.

Already, Moog’s team has planted rambutan and lanzones around the site, plus abaca, durian, pange, and lanzones in the sparsely forested areas. The move is part of the Environment department’s activity called Diversified Agriculture and Orchard Management, and also involves the planting of dragon fruit and Thailand bignay. “In five years’ time, these trees and plants shall be bearing fruits,” she says.

By then the Silangan project will have commenced operations and environmentalists as well as responsible miners will be enjoying the fruits of their labor.

SMMCI is a subsidiary of Silangan Mindanao Exploration Co., Inc. (SMECI), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Philex Mining Corp. through a holding company and Philex Gold Philippines, Inc. The latter is another wholly owned subsidiary of Philex Mining through a holding company and incorporated in the Philippines.