Incorrect disposal of plastic waste is a serious environmental issue in the country, contributing to environmental hazards such as flooding. Unilever is committed to finding ways to bring down sachet waste, through various community-based programs.
The Surf Fiesta Program is an attempt to do sachet recycling at scale. In partnership with Smart Communications and Cebuana Lhuillier, it enables consumers to exchange empty sachets for free texts.
Another Unilever program called “Sweep” begins with in-home waste segregation, aided by a door-to-door collection program.
Street sweepers are tapped to collect plastic waste, which can be exchanged for credits which they can use to purchase Unilever products.
The waste is then converted to cement pavers that are donated back to the communities involved.
E-mail mandynavasero@yahoo.com.