Who could tell these colorful bags are made from recyclable plastic wastes?

Waste pickers from Brgy. Bachao Sur, Kalibo, Aklan turned waste materials into useful bags and wallets to make a living.

Women waste recyclers from the said barangay organized themselves into an Association of Women Waste Recyclers of Kalibo (AWARE-Kalibo) by the help of their Local Government Unit (LGU) through their Solid Waste Management Services.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development through its Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) has funded their various trainings to enhance their skills and some other livelihood activities.

SLP Project Development Officer Anthony Laruan said the members were provided an alternative source of income to help uplift and improve their economic condition.

Laruan added apart from making profits out of these wastes, the project will also help reduce the volume of waste being disposed at the landfill site.

“This project is very environmental friendly. Imagine these waste raw materials that just littering around the corner are now turned into good use”, he said.

Presently, the association has now 70 members from 28 who started the project years ago.//dswd6/Montesa G. Caoyonan