The national closing ceremony of the Rethinking Plastics project in the Philippines was held on September 14, 2022 in Iloilo City. The event featured technical presentations and exchanges covering the results of advisory services and pilot projects in the topics of EPR, plastic waste management, sustainable consumption, and production of plastics, as well as addressing sea-based sources of marine litter.
The ‘Rethinking Plastics – Circular Economy Solutions to Marine Litter’ project, funded by the European Union in the Philippines and the German Federal Government German Embassy Manila, was implemented from May 2019 to October 2022 by GIZ Philippines. The project contributed to the implementation of relevant national policies and actions on circular economy and the reduction of marine litter, especially the National Plan of Action for the Prevention, Reduction, and Management of Marine Litter (NPOA-ML). It also supported improvements of plastic waste management at the household and community levels in Iloilo City; the piloting and promotion of local circular economy approaches for Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Bacolod and Talisay City; and the development of a voluntary guideline and ecolabel for packaging.
For the implementation of the project’s communications and awareness raising activities, GIZ partnered with ASSIST Creativelab to promote and translate the concept of sustainable consumption and production to a wider range of stakeholders. ASSIST Creativelab implemented a communication campaign in the Philippines to foster the project’s following output – “Awareness of public authorities and consumers about sustainable consumption and production of plastic and impacts on the environment littering is increased.”
ASSIST established the #HuwagItaponAngBukas communication and awareness campaign which was built on the concept of “Plastic Pandemic” and on visualizing the harmful effects of plastics to the future of the environment with a call to “act now”. Leveraging digital engagement, ASSIST developed an online model character, Eca, who served as a guide and inspiration to reduce consumption of plastic for the Filipino youth – the campaign’s target audience. ASSIST also conducted a Learning Seminar with the youth leaders of the municipality of Balayan in Batangas on August 19, 2022.
During the national closing ceremony, ASSIST, represented by Mr. Parth Gautam and Ms. Ena Taguiam, set up a booth and reported the results of the Awareness Raising Campaign to the Rethinking Plastics project’s stakeholders.
