Fighting Philippine marine pollution one plastic sachet at a time
The Plastic Flamingo collects and repurposes post-consumer plastic waste into sustainable, impactful products.
In 2015, the Philippines gained notoriety as the world’s third largest contributor to marine pollution, following China and Indonesia, as per the Ocean Conservancy and McKinsey Center for Business and Environment’s global ranking on ocean plastic waste.
A 2018 report by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives revealed that no significant change took place to resolve the issue. The audit revealed that more than 17 billion shopping bags, 16.5 billion labo (transparent plastic) bags, and 60 billion sachets per year were used throughout the Philippines alone, inevitably reflecting just how badly Filipinos are fond of single-use plastics, which make up the majority of plastic pollution in both land and water.
The enormous amount of plastic waste from the country posed a hazard that went beyond the Philippine territory, affecting Southeast Asia in its entirety as plastic debris and trash leak into the oceans, reaching neighboring countries.
Wide-scale repercussions, such as Ella McArthur Foundation’s estimation that plastic will soon outweigh the fish found in the oceans beginning in 2050, leave us with an even greater need of aid from environmental advocates and organizations.
French-owned social enterprise The Plastic Flamingo, also known as The Plaf, was established for this very purpose: to combat marine pollution, starting with the Philippines.
Founders Charlotte and François Lesage first had the idea for The Plaf after traveling across different countries in a span of one year. Embarking on a bike tour from France to Vietnam, the couple immersed in an eye-opening experience that ultimately made them realize just “how polluted the world is, especially in Asia.”
Knowing that there is more to the Philippines beyond the mounts of plastic waste that continue to poison the oceans on a regional and global scale, he and his wife, along with their three young children, traded their comfortable life in Paris to settle back in the Philippines in 2018.
The couple now dares to find a solution to the ocean plastic crisis as a way to give back to the country that first welcomed the family patriarch as a university student. Here, the Lesages organized a core team and started The Plaf, whose pilot project focuses on two stages.
First is the collection of post-consumer plastic waste, gathered within Manila and its surroundings through what is called the “Plaf Network,” which consists of around 80 partnered organizations, schools, universities, and companies such as Decathlon and l’Eau Vive, whose stores also act as drop-off points. As of the interview, The Plaf has managed to collect roughly 15.5 tons of plastic in a span of six months.
The second stage is the repurposing of collected post-consumer plastic waste into sustainable products. Presently on “standby” due to lack of funding, implementation of this stage is expected this year. The company’s sustainable products, assured to be “impactful,” include profiles or planks that may be used for furniture, boats, pool decks, and other construction work, as well as the transitional shelter, which Manon Guérin, the social enterprise’s marketing and communications manager, noted as their “star product.”
A transitional shelter is offered to conflict- or disaster-stricken communities while they wait for new, permanent homes to settle in, or before they move back to their own homes. Guérin also assured that these transitional shelters are “made from 100-percent recycled plastic, easy to set up, and spacious.”
Guérin also shared that The Plaf takes pride in being “one of the rare [plastic recycling] facilities” based in the Philippines. The team’s waste collection process, which she noted as “very efficient and free,” also contributes to their advantage.
The team is also working towards producing a unique formula for their profiles to be able to recycle all types of plastic, especially soft plastics, which are widely used in the Philippines.
Echoing the studies, Guérin believes that the dire plastic problem in the Philippines is rooted in “the overconsumption of single-use plastic sachets.” She noted the lack of access to alternative sources and products, as well as the inadequate means and education on plastic recycling. Overpopulation also plays a pivotal role in this situation, she said. “It is complicated to change the habits of more than 12 million people,” as with the case of Metro Manila.
The Plaf positions itself as a “social enterprise with both environmental and social missions” with consideration to existing efforts of forwarding sustainable tourism.
“We are definitely helping the Philippines by providing a solution to recycle their plastic. We have found that people and organizations are motivated, and just need an easy process to do so. It aligns with the government’s will to reduce plastic waste and pollution in the Philippines,” said Guérin.
While The Plaf intends to nurture and expand its roots throughout other cities in the Philippines, the company also aims to replicate its model in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and India by 2030.