After participating in the Globe Plastic Xchange Program last year, seven communities in Metro Manila were rewarded with ecobricks, which they can now use for various construction projects.

These communities are Barangay Magallanes in Makati, Andres Bonifacio Integrated School in Mandaluyong, Barangay 455 in Manila, Barangays Palatiw and San Antonio in Pasig, and Barangays Signal Village and Upper Bicutan in Taguig.

"We are glad to be part of Globe’s Plastic Xchange Program. Not only did it help us reduce our single plastic waste, but now, we have ecobricks, which we can use to construct improvements for our urban gardening project,” said Brgy. Signal Village Captain Michelle Odevillas.

Alexander Penolio, Brgy. Captain of Upper Bicutan said: "In our own little way, we can all help keep our surroundings clean. We believe small steps and actions matter, and together we can start the change and save the mother earth from plastic and pollution.”

The ecobricks will be used to build community gardens and benches, a waste segregation facility, and a creek fence as well as to rehabilitate daycare centers.

“Globe continues to look at new ways, such as ecobricks, to help address our country's plastic waste problem. We started this campaign against single-use plastic with our employees and partners, and now, we are proud to see that our customers and other stakeholders are actively participating in this advocacy,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP for Corporate Communications.

During the Plastic Xchange Program, Globe was able to collect 231,419 pieces of single-use plastic waste, which were turned into 24,500 ecobricks by Green Antz Builders, Inc., a Bulacan-based social enterprise, which has developed the ecobricks as a green and more cost-effective alternative to the regular hollow blocks.

The ecobricks make use of plastic laminates which are compressed via a proprietary process. Each ecobrick contains 2.5 kilos of plastic.

The Plastic Xchange Program was part of ‘Wag sa Single-Use Plastic (WasSUP) advocacy of Globe, which tackles the impact of plastics on the environment.

For more about Globe and its sustainability programs, follow Globe Bridging Communities on Facebook or visit our Sustainability page.