Fiber Internet provider Converge ICT Solutions has started deploying collection boxes for electronic waste in three business centers in Pampanga province as it launches its #CountdownToZeroWaste campaign in its hometown Angeles City.
The company said with this campaign, it hopes to make headway with its sustainability commitment to have zero output to landfill by 2030 by enjoining its employees, customers, and other stakeholders to donate their unused or broken gadgets, small appliances, and other electrical wastes.
Through partnerships with government-accredited waste recycling companies, the donated e-wastes are hauled, processed, and recycled into new materials such as bricks, chairs, and others, in accordance with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) standards.
According to Converge head of workplace, premises and fleet management Solomon Joya, the zero waste campaign is two-pronged as it also aims to further expand the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs of the company.
“Proceeds from the zero-waste campaign will be reverted back to our CSR programs to help communities where we operate,” he said.
“This is the continuation of the program we launched in November 2022. Now we’re launching it here in Pampanga. There are a lot of ways we have to think about committing to zero waste and one of these streams is e-waste. As an ISP, we really have a lot of e-waste. We have at least 64,000 kilos worth of cables and we have computers in Clark too. Bibilhin yan ng third party service provider,” Joya said, during the launch in Pampanga.
“One of the pillars of our sustainability commitment is taking care of our planet. Reducing our waste is one of the ways to do that and we are targeting zero waste to landfill output by 2030, which is aligned with the broader United Nations sustainable development goals,” Jay-Anne Encarnado, Converge VP and head of corporate communications and public relations, said.
“We started this campaign with what we have, which is electronic waste. And we want to enjoin our employees and the rest of the community, including our customers, to join us in this effort. That’s why we rolled out our (collection) boxes not just in our offices but also in our business centers.”
The e-waste drop boxes will initially be deployed at Converge business centers in Dau, Mabalacat, and Clark in Pampanga. Last November, Converge piloted its e-waste campaign in its Metro Manila headquarters in Pasig City.
More e-waste boxes are expected to be rolled out within the year with its next leg to be held in Nueva Ecija in February.
Converge has committed to achieve zero waste to landfill output by 2030 and aligns its goals with the Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) target of increasing the global e-waste recycling rate by 30% starting this year.
Also under the zero-waste campaign of Converge, old tarpaulins used for marketing and other corporate events are being recycled into sustainable tote bags through a partnership with women-led social enterprise Kreations PH.
