The provincial government of Pangasinan has collected some 268,297 kilograms of plastic waste from January to December last year, which was replaced with goods through its “Kalinisan Karaban” project.

In a phone interview on Monday, General Services Office chief Evan Gladish Domalanta said the groceries and other goods distributed to residents in the different parts of the province in exchange for their plastic wastes amounted to PHP5.4 million.

“Amid the pandemic, we continued the program and collected plastic wastes through the Abig (heal) Pangasinan Kalinisan Karaban, which was held 93 times last year with 7,973 participants from the different municipalities and cities of the province,” she said.

She added they recently collected 80 tons of plastic wastes and have given PHP1.6 million worth of grocery items in Bautista, Basista, Asingan, and Tayug towns.

Domalanta said the plastic waste collected through the program were turned into eco-bricks which were used in schools or provincial government facilities.

The Kalinisan Karaban was initiated by Governor Amado Espino III aimed at clearing the streets of Pangasinan of plastic wastes, and encouraging the love for the environment through segregation, especially among the children.

Domalanta said the Kalinisan Karaban store truck, which started going around the province in 2019, operates in a designated place where residents can bring their segregated wastes, such as plastic containers, shampoo sachets, sando bags, and candy wrappers, which would be weighed and exchanged with goods.

“Every kilo of plastic waste is equivalent to PHP15, which they could use to buy goods from our store truck,” she said.

The plastic wastes, she added, should be separated from wrappers and sando bags.

Domalanta said the project was institutionalized through Provincial Ordinance 32-2019 by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP).

“It is the aim of the province to institutionalize public participation in the implementation of the Kalinisan Karaban program through the promotion of individual responsibility towards reusing, reducing, and recycling of household plastic wastes,” Provincial Ordinance 32-2019 stated. (PNA)