Recycle plastic, earn vouchers under new Iloilo City program

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Residents of Iloilo City will soon earn rewards ranging from food vouchers to shopping discounts by depositing recyclable waste at designated collection stations, under a new partnership between the city government and Rezbin Waste Technology Inc.

The city government and the Iloilo-based startup signed a memorandum of agreement on Monday, June 29, marking a partnership that will expand access to technology-enabled recycling across the city.

Under the agreement, Rezbin will install 25 recycling stations in strategic locations across the city, particularly in barangays and schools.

Residents must first download and register on the Rezbin mobile app before using nearby drop-off stations.

After depositing accepted recyclables, such as clean and dry plastic bottles, users earn Rezbin Points that can be redeemed in the app for discounts, vouchers, and other rewards from participating partner businesses.

“We have, right now, over 500 brand partners nationwide. So people can just accumulate points, and they can exchange this for discounts, vouchers,” said Rezbin co-founder and Iloilo site manager Martin Cornelius Martirez.

He said the app features rewards from partner merchants, including fast-food chains, pharmacies, health and wellness establishments, accommodations, and various online platforms.

Users can also use the app to locate the nearest Rezbin station.

Unlike cash incentive programs, the accumulated points cannot be converted into money and may be redeemed only for rewards available in the app’s rewards store.

Martirez said the incentive system aims to encourage more residents to segregate recyclable waste properly instead of throwing it away.

“Through this, we hope to incentivize people to properly segregate waste, that way we can also lessen the number of recyclable wastes we have thrown and then we can send it on to processing,” Martirez added.

The city government said the program seeks to instill long-term waste segregation habits, particularly among students.

“Our goal is to change people’s behavior, especially among students. Instead of throwing recyclable materials away, we want them to place these in the machines,” said General Services Office head Neil Ravena.

The city aims to engage at least 7,500 users during the project’s implementation.

Aside from encouraging responsible waste disposal, the partnership also seeks to strengthen the local recycling industry by integrating junk shops and waste collectors into the city’s recycling value chain.

Under the agreement, the Uswag Calajunan Livelihood Association has been identified as the proposed authorized collector of recyclable materials gathered through the Rezbin system, allowing the project to also serve as a livelihood initiative.

The partnership was formed under the “Closing the Loop: Inclusive and Tech-Enabled Plastic Collection for Sustainable Recycling” project, part of the European Union–Philippines Green Economy Partnership.

The program, funded under the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy, supports the Philippines’ transition to a greener economy.

It runs from 2023 to 2028 and is backed by a grant of about PHP 3.67 billion.

The push for community-level recycling comes as the Philippines grapples with an estimated 2.7 million metric tons of plastic waste each year, a substantial share of which reaches the ocean, according to World Bank estimates.

The initiative also aligns with Republic Act No. 11898, the Extended Producer Responsibility Act of 2022, which requires large enterprises to recover a rising share of their plastic packaging, from 20 percent in 2023 and rising incrementally toward 80 percent by 2028.