The Good, the Bad, and the Promising Road for Zero Waste in The Philippines
We’ve come a long way from shampoo bars and metal straws. Here’s the real deal with zero waste in the Philippines in 2024
Words Mika Geronimo
February 29, 2024
It’s safe to say that the conversation on going zero waste has evolved over the past few years. It’s a noble effort, being mindful of one’s impact on the environment. While the idea of eliminating waste altogether is definitely a desirable circumstance to attain, it is unfortunately almost impossible to achieve.
What is Zero Waste?
On the individual level, the zero-waste lifestyle asks us, at the very least, to be more conscious of the goods we consume. This means repurposing items, making full use of them, or simply thinking twice about what and how much we buy.
A zero-waste lifestyle can encompass different aspects of our everyday life, each with a seemingly easy resolution to rectify the potential waste that can come with it. As opposed to buying fast fashion or taking part in the latest clothing trends, it might be better to instead opt for thrifted and upcycled clothing pieces or build a capsule wardrobe filled with versatile closet staples. As for mobility, minimizing your carbon footprint via public transportation, biking, or carpooling is always a viable alternative to riding private cars.
In order to divert pollution and other adverse effects to our environment, sacrificing a little bit of convenience is necessary.
The Rise of Zero-Waste Businesses
However, we see the buzzword “zero waste” usually plastered on products and services related to food, wellness, personal care, and other essentials stocked in one’s home. These items are more likely to generate the most litter, typically in the form of single-use plastic packaging.
In Metro Manila alone, we’ve seen countless zero-waste concepts attempting to shift the tide and introduce the lifestyle to a more urban market. There’s Luminary in Makati City, and further up north, you have North Caloocan’s Ecoshoppe PH, as well as Back To Basics Ecostore in the Quezon City neighborhood of Maginhawa. Just recently, superstore Heyday unveiled its first branch at Glorietta 4, offering a variety of fresh finds and wellness goodies akin to what we’ve seen in other health-centered stores.
A common thread that ties these businesses together is their ingredient refilling stations, farm-to-table produce, storage, and kitchenware made from bamboo, metal, glass, or wood, as well as eco-friendly versions of your favorite bathroom essentials. A crucial selling point is how their products are branded as organic and all-natural, options that are beyond what your nearby grocery store or market could offer.
The premise is simple – bring your own reusable containers and fill up just what you need. Like the grown-up version of a child stuffing a bag full of sweets from a candy store, minus the tummyache and cavities. By undergoing even the basics of a lifestyle reassessment as impactful as zero-waste, you’re able to make a difference in how you take care of yourself and the environment. Or, at least that’s what we’re told.
Zero Waste: Fad or Rad?
Enter the valid skepticism: Isn’t buying from these stores a tad bit more expensive than standard market prices? Where can you find these stores and who exactly are they catering to? With your busy schedule and tight budget, is it really worth the trip or even the splurge? More importantly, can a single lifestyle change undo decades' worth of environmental damage caused by big corporations?
Now, breathe. With inflation, climate change, and a whole other plethora of world issues, it’s understandable to be asking these albeit necessary questions. The way we see it, what seems to encourage the disconnect between this cause and those considering participating in it is the disproportional guilt and pressure placed solely on the consumer.
It’s get your steps in and buy package-free or else you’re the bad guy – which shouldn’t be the case at all. A lifestyle shift can’t happen overnight, just like how it’s entirely not on the consumer to singlehandedly save the earth with a metal straw.
Instead, zero waste should be treated as a means to complement the life you currently lead, piecing together what’s essential and finding possible eco-conscious ways to obtain these. It’s finding value in what you buy and making the most of it. We see it lovingly in our local culture as it is: ice cream containers being repurposed for stocking fish in the freezer, the butter biscuit tin reincarnated into your mom’s sewing kit… the list goes on.
But nostalgia aside, there are indeed valiant initiatives scattered all across the Metro. But we must keep in mind that these stores are not the end-all-be-all for living with zero waste. There are community markets or palengkes, containers in place of to-go packaging, and other small yet mindful decisions we can make to reduce our waste, and in most cases, even live healthier.
Living zero waste shouldn’t be seen as some moral stamp of approval, or even worse, a superficial trend. But rather, it should simply act as a conscious effort drawn from one’s own volition. Only then have you truly made a difference.
