Mandaue’s women make money by recycling waste

CEBU, Philippines - There are no idle days for a good number of women in barangay Canduman in Mandaue City since most of them earn a living by making pillows using shredded plastic materials that come from households.

Other women recycle waste produced by a nearby furniture company.

The waste then is transformed into bags, wallets, frames, and other products.

These women converge at the barangay’s livelihood center.

Barangay Canduman captain Leo Jabas, who is this year’s Most Outstanding brangay captain, has said that the livelihood center is being run by a cooperative with ten personnel.

They started operating early this year with two sewing machines that cost P26,000 each but later on it became 12 sewing machines through the courtesy of the city government and the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc(RAFI). 

Their finished products are all sold in malls and in booths during fiestas.

Prices for pillows cost P100.

Women who sell bags and wallets earn as much as P150 to P250 per day and can already feed a family, according to one of the women at the center.

Engr. Ricardo Mendoza, head of the City Solid Waste Management Office, said the plastic-to-pillow facility helps reduce waste.

Mendoza said majority of Mandaue’s barangays operate an MRF.

Both barangays Canduman and Pagsabungan also operate a plastic-to-fuel facility. (FREEMAN)