Marking the fourth Global Recycling Day on March 18, telecommunications company Globe highlights its environmental sustainability programs and partners in reducing waste.
Responsible disposal and recycling of electronic waste is the focus of the company’s E-waste Zero. Through the program, individuals and organizations can donate their old, non-working electronic devices and accessories to participating Globe stores, select malls, and offices of partner groups. Free door-to-door pickups are also available; check www.globe.com.
Improper disposal of e-waste can pollute the environment and even pose health hazards as old phones, home appliances, and broken electronic gadgets and their batteries contain toxic components such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury that can severely damage the environment and even harm people.
“We introduced our E-waste Zero program back in 2014 as a way to raise funds to put up new classrooms in Aklan which were devastated by typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). Since then, we were able to scale the program by partnering with the rest of the AC Group, corporate clients, schools, and NGOs,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe chief sustainability officer and senior vice president of corporate communications.
To date, more than 1.4 million kilograms of e-waste were donated, collected, and responsibly recycled through Globe’s partner treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facilities: Total Environment Solutions – Asset Material Management Philippines (TES-AMM) in Pasig City and Maritrans Recycler, Inc. in Cebu.
E-wastes are segregated to recover plastic materials, electronic components, and precious metals. The final recycling process is done in TES-AMM’s facility in Singapore.
WasSUP, on the other hand, is a corporate sustainability program geared towards advocating a zero waste lifestyle and educating Globe employees on how avoidance of single-use plastics or SUPs can help in environmental conservation.
This year, the company collaborated with Green Antz Builders, Inc. for the responsible disposal and processing of single-use plastic wastes starting with its main office at The Globe Tower in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
Green Antz Builders is an innovative provider of building and housing solutions that integrates eco-friendly practices and green technologies in its products and services.
Globe has already installed a plastic shredder that makes sure all identified SUPs from within the premises are processed in a responsible manner before they are transported to the Green Antz facility in Taguig. The shredded plastics would then be used as a component of eco-bricks and pavers that will be sold by Green Antz as construction materials for schools and garden pathways.
Two more sustainability efforts by Globe are its partnership with Vending Experts Night and Day Philippines, Inc. or VEND, and Quanta Paper. The company has worked with VEND to produce vending machines that operate using the Quick Response (QR) code for cashless and contactless transactions using GCash. Quanta Paper provides rolls of tissue paper to Globe offices that are marked with the Green Choice Seal of Approval.