In response to the mounting waste crisis worldwide, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime), one of the top integrated property developers in Southeast Asia, is starting a unified trash management and segregation program.
SM Prime and GUUN Co. have partnered together. with the former owning 70% of the joint venture company's stake in the Philippines. This new partnership will contribute actively to the building of resource recovery and waste management infrastructure while emulating Japan's best practices.
The joint venture will support the Local Government Units' (LGUs) material recovery facility operations by mitigating the landfill impact from both SM Prime and non-SM Prime managed properties.
Vision of a waste-free future
Through sorting, curation, and formulation to fulfill chemical restrictions, non-recyclable and difficult-to-recycle wastes are converted into GUUN's fluff fuel. Fueling cement kilns and industrial boilers in paper manufacture and power plants, it acts as a substitute for solid fossil fuels like coal.
This strategy has worked well in Japan to reduce trash from landfills, giving waste a second chance at being useful fuel while offering waste pickers the chance to advance to official waste sorting positions in these warehouses.
The collaboration between SM Prime and GUUN is perceived as an additional means of executing recovery or reduction strategies as it plans that waste is eliminated.
An important partnership
Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Toni Yulo-Loyzaga, stressed the value of these collaborations in promoting environmentally friendly waste management techniques.
“The DENR continues to collaborate with development partners and the private sector in tackling the challenge of solid waste management. Implementing industrial-scale, appropriate transition technologies for segregation and processing is a crucial step toward achieving a circular economy," she said.
“Partnerships like the one between SM Prime and GUUN play a vital role in shaping a sustainable future,” Yulo-Loyzaga added.
Meanwhile, GUUN CEO Shinji Fujieda affirmed their commitment to the Philippines, “At GUUN, we are ready to make every effort to contribute significantly to the Philippines and evolve the resource circulation system. The partnership with SM Prime leaves us with no doubt that we can succeed.
