This is tough for us human beings. We get scared and take action on immediate dangers, like when our life is threatened by a disease or someone. But when we are doing damages to something that is outside our home, and we do not see the damage immediately, we often just ignore the problem. 

We buy too much, and we damage the environment in the process, because energy is needed to produce products we buy, and packaging of products become garbage that cannot be degraded back into the environment without harming living organisms. We need to change our way, now, or else we will live in a more a more toxic environment, with poor air quality, contaminated food, and more dramatic climate change.

Repairing the environment needs action from all of us. This may sound daunting, but luckily, more and more people are realizing the dire situation that we are in, and are willing to do something about it.

Photo above: BGC authorities has partnered with Green Antz Builders, to collect plastic waste that can be recycled into building bricks.

In BGC, in particular, there are many individuals who are doing more than their share to help the environment. A BGC resident, Ms Josefina Estrada, has provided us with a list of facilities in BGC that accept used items, either for Reuse, Repair, or Recycling, which will reduce the volume of trash or the use of energy to produce new items.

Of course, let us not forget to Reduce our purchases, especially those that will incur the production of single use plastics!


REUSE – REPAIR- RECYCLE

Photo above: Green Antz’s graphic on how they use waste material in making their ecobricks

Buy from, or donate to, stores selling used or secondhand goods:

Market Market 

Segunda Mana Charity Outlet
(3rd floor, Gift Market zone)
Segunda Mana is an outlet operated by Caritas Manila, a Catholic charity. It sells used, as well as new, clothing and houseware. It accepts donations in kind. It is located in Market Market! mall (as seen in the featured photo).
They also have a large red metal bin near the Customer Service counter at Metro Supermarket in the  basement where you can leave donations such as clothes, shoes, bags, toys, houseware, etc.

HMR Surplus
This shop on the second floor of Market Market! sells used furniture, appliances, sports and exercise equipment. These items are mostly imported, but the parent company, HMR Group, actually has an affiliate company called Envirocycle Inc.  that recycles electronic waste. Their recycling facility is in Laguna City, and apparently, it is a partner of SM Mall’s Trash for Cash initiative, including SM Aura Mall in BGC.
BOOKSALE
Sells used and remaindered books and magazines.
Chapters & Pages
Sells used and remaindered books
S. O. S.
Sells used laptops. Repairs laptops, PCs and cell phones.

Electronics REPAIR Services:
Brochiere
Repairs laptops, PCs, printers and monitors
(located at 4th floor with shops selling phones, laptops and related accessories)
S. O. S. (see above)
Various stalls offering cell phone repair services (not sure if they sell used phones)

Clothes alterations and repair –
Paras Alter Station
Gabriel Tailoring 
Fabrique Shop 
Zapport Haute Couture 
(All of the above are located at the 3rd floor, Gift Market zone)
Mr. Quickie
 offers clothes alterations aside from shoe and bag repair, duplicate key services
(located next to the Meralco office in front of the main parking lot)

Photo above: a screenshot of an interactive map that shows the location of several recycling facilities in BGC. In the interactive map, click on the name of each place to see a detailed description.

On Bonifacio High Street

R.O.X. repairs bicycles.

Collection of recyclable waste:


Plastic discards

Green Antz accepts clean and dry plastic disposables on Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Lane P next to Nanyang/Bread Talk on High Street, close to Seda Hotel. They do not accept dirty plastic, PVC, PPE and styrofoam. Sometimes they also collect from MarketMarket mall.

B.Y.O.B  NutriAsia kiosk at the Mind Museum Plaza accepts clean and dry flexible plastic discards. In addition, it also sell refills of soy sauce, cooking oil, and vinegar if you bring your own empty bottle, thus reducing the need for new plastic bottles! It opens from 12 noon to 8PM daily.

Photo above BYOB station : it refills soy sauce, cooking oil and vinegar to your own bottles, and accepts plastic waste for recycling. Unfortunately, it is closed during ECQ and MECQ in April 2021

Electronic waste collection points
Globe Electronic Waste bins are located at Globe Headquarters building, Globe shop at Central Square and at Globe centers in Market Market and SM Aura.

SM Aura also has an e-waste bin at the 3rd floor co-sharing space.

For large appliances that are no longer working, you can contact Goodwill Industries to pick it up. 

Nespresso at the ground floor of One Bonifacio Mall accepts used Nespresso pods.

SM Trash to Cash event happens on the first Friday and Saturday of the month at the first basement level of SM Aura.

There are also clothes alternation and watch repair shops in SM Aura mall.

Go Green the Right Way!

Wait, you mean there are wrong ways to go green? BGC resident Joe San Soon, in sharing his tips on recycling in a Facebook group for BGC residents, highlighted a very common mistake that people make when trying to help the environment.

For many years, we separate plastic trash from food waste, and even bring it down to the trash collection point of our building. However, we had made the assumption that our segregated plastic trash would be recycled. As it turns out, if the segregated plastic trash is not clean and dry, often they are just thrown into the landfill, instead of getting recycled!

Photo above: BGC resident Joe San Soon cleans all plastic waste and makes sure that they are dry before disposing them, to ensure that they can be recycled.

Mr Soon shows readers of his post the proper way to clean plastic trash at home. He also introduces viewers of his post to a company called The Plaf, a social company based in Manila that aims to tackle marine plastic pollution by recycling plastic waste before it reaches the oceans.

It is upon us to act

The problem of environmental degradation is so huge that it needs efforts from all of us. Fortunately, there are many residents in BGC who are willing to take the lead in this endeavor.  Let us all join them in doing at least our own part in reducing our negative impact on the environment.

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