PHP 15 million waste hub breaks ground in Passi

ILOILO CITY — A PHP 15 million solid waste management facility that will consolidate recyclable materials from across Iloilo province is set to rise in Barangay Talongonan, Passi City.

The WOW (Weave Out Waste) Limpyo Iloilo Hub, funded by the Iloilo provincial government, broke ground Thursday, Oct. 1, as part of the province’s efforts to strengthen solid waste management and advance a circular economy.

The facility is expected to be completed within 10 months and will serve as a province-wide aggregation and trading center for recyclable materials.

It will link local government units, waste workers and recyclers while streamlining the collection, aggregation and trading of recyclable materials across the province.

By consolidating recyclable volumes, the hub is also expected to help waste workers and recyclers secure better market prices for recovered materials.

The groundbreaking ceremony was led by Passi City Mayor Stephen Palmares; Iloilo Provincial Board Member Amalia Debuque, who represented Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.; Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 6 OIC Regional Executive Director Ramar Niel V. Pascua; Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office Supervising Environmental Specialist Mitzi Peñaflorida; and Provincial Tourism Officer and Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Center chief Aulynn Yue Sin.

Also present were United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in the Philippines Christophe Bahuet, The Coca-Cola Foundation President Carlos Pagoaga, and other representatives of UNDP and The Coca-Cola Foundation.

The groups also witnessed the turnover of recyclable collection trikes to the Passi City government.

Before the groundbreaking, the delegates visited the Passi City Eco Center, where they met and interacted with local waste workers.

UNDP and The Coca-Cola Foundation are development partners of the Iloilo provincial government in implementing solid waste management initiatives, particularly programs aimed at reducing plastic waste.

Through funding from The Coca-Cola Foundation, UNDP is implementing the PH Plastics Circularity Project in Iloilo, an initiative running from November 2024 to October 2027.

The project is being implemented with the provincial government and pilot local governments in Passi City, Iloilo City, Banate, Dumangas and Pototan.

It seeks to strengthen local waste management systems, improve waste and recycling infrastructure, integrate circular economy principles into local policies, support waste workers and promote behavioral changes that reduce plastic waste.

The partnership earlier launched WOW Limpyo Iloilo as an upcycling initiative that converts post-election waste into marketable products after the province collected more than 49,000 kilograms of election waste in May 2025, more than half of which consisted of plastics.

The new hub forms part of the province’s broader push to improve waste management at the household level while strengthening systems for the recovery, reuse and recycling of materials.