Legarda Hails New Recycling Campaign in Metro Manila

Senator Loren Legarda today hailed the recently launched National Ecosavers Program (NEP) for public schools, which will give incentives to students who bring recyclable materials.

“I am very pleased that the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 is being implemented with such renewed vigor. Solid waste management is central to reducing the susceptibility of all sectors to the floods that threaten people’s health, homes, and livelihoods. In addition, this campaign will raise awareness in the new generation about the importance of keeping a clean environment,” she said.

The NEP is a program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the Galing Pook Foundation. Students who donate recyclable materials will earn “points” which, when accumulated, can be exchanged for more useful materials, such as school supplies. 

In line with the alarming amount of solid waste coming from the capital, the NEP will first be implemented in 763 public elementary and high schools in Metro Manila.

Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change and author of R.A. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, added that with the present condition of communities in Metro Manila, the NEP should be complemented by NCR-wide clean-ups of drainage, waterways, and riverbanks, more tree-growing activities, and other programs to address the problem of ground subsidence.

“The NEP combines a sound solid waste management mechanism with youth participation, which allows it to address two very pertinent issues at once. Evidently, the program deserves our support, and its expansion beyond Metro Manila should soon be underway,” Legarda concluded.