3M, in its commitment to further advance sustainability and efficiency, is responding to the demand to tackle and reduce plastic pollution while optimizing social impact. Today, ocean-bound plastic waste pollution continues to pose environmental, economic, and social problems in the Philippines, who is the world’s third-biggest contributor to plastic pollution in the ocean. It is because of this crisis, as well as key priorities in sustainability, society and education, that 3M has pledged its support to the Plastic Flamingo Plastic Waste Management project in the Philippines.
The grant to the Plastic Flamingo amounting to Php1,200,000.00 is provided by 3Mgives, 3M’s global social investment arm, to the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), the business-led social development organization committed to poverty reduction. The grant will provide support for efforts to increase the collection and recycling of plastic, reduce the plastic waste going to and polluting oceans, as well as improve the income from waste-picking as a livelihood.
“Sustainability is at the heart of 3M. It drives our innovations and inspires us to collaborate with various stakeholders, including non-profits and communities, to solve global problems and improve everyday life. We hope that our support for the Plastic Flamingo Waste Management Project helps address an environmental challenge that impacts communities in the Philippines,” stated Reggie Pulumbarit, Country Leader, 3M Philippines, Inc and Director, 3M’s Philippines Global Service Center.
The project, with the support of 3M Philippines and PBSP, officially began in October 2021 and is now in full swing. After PBSP selects, employs, and briefs the new community waste pickers and provides them with safety gear and equipment, the organization intend to commence plastic waste collection in February until September of this year. It is expected that at least 32 metric tons of plastic waste will be collected from this strengthened strategy involving traditional collection points and communities.
3M Philippines is committed to enabling progress in sustainability, society, and education in the Philippines. Just last September, the company hosted the final leg of the 3M Inspire Challenge, a regional competition that calls for student-driven solutions in technology, sustainability, and innovation. Another notable partnership is 3M Philippines’ collaboration with Mano Amiga Stem Femme Club, which empowers young girls who are interested in STEM. Lastly, the company conducted the 3M Impact Program, wherein selected employees from 3M Philippines and 3M Global Service Center take part in skill-based volunteering programs led by 3M’s nonprofit partners.
The Plastic Flamingo is a French social enterprise that launched in 2019 with a pilot project in the Philippines. Through its plastic waste management project, it aims to support the employment of junk shops and collection members from the local community, while continuing to hire mostly women personnel for its warehouse and recycling facility. Furthermore, the collected plastic will be transformed into eco-planks that will be used to construct emergency shelter kits for Filipinos displaced by natural disasters.