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The Quezon City administration inaugurated the nation’s inaugural textile circularity center in Payatas on Thursday, a facility that converts discarded materials into premium goods, addressing the escalating textile pollution while creating job opportunities for the local populace.
The center is named the QC-Anthill Circularity Hub and is strategically located within the Payatas Controlled Disposal Facility (PCDF), which was previously recognized as a trash site but has been converted into an ecological park.
“Textile waste is frequently ignored, yet it ranks as one of the rapidly expanding forms of urban refuse,” Mayor Maria Josefina “Joy” G. Belmonte remarked during the inauguration.
“With the Circularity Hub, we are demonstrating that sustainability can be both innovative and enabling.”
This facility was made viable through a collaboration between the city government, Anthill, a social and cultural organization based in Cebu, and the Pilipinas Shell Foundation.
Various entities, including the Maybank Foundation and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will also assist in enhancing artisans’ skills.
Joy Anya Lim, co-founder of Anthill, stated that twenty artisans from Payatas will partake in a three-month training program with daily remuneration.
Subsequent to the training, ten artisans will enter a six-month probation phase, after which they may transition to full-time roles at the facility.
“We are not merely championing sustainability by eliminating this waste, but we are also offering a viable livelihood for these women, most of whom are mothers,” Ms. Lim conveyed to BusinessWorld in a blend of English and Filipino.
“Many of them earn meager amounts from producing rags, but now they have a greater opportunity to increase their earnings,” Ms. Lim further mentioned.
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology is also poised to back the hub by permitting Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) to classify textile refuse that will be utilized by artisans.”
Quezon City’s Mayor urged additional brands and enterprises to contribute to the hub’s circular initiative, such as donating their textile refuse to the hub or commissioning garments at the hub instead of importing them.
“We appeal to our business sector, particularly those located in Quezon City, to investigate how textile circular solutions can be integrated into your supply networks,” Ms. Belmonte expressed.
“Let’s collaborate to upcycle textile waste and convert it into something beneficial, so we can contribute to the creation of a greener and more accountable city,” she added.— Edg Adrian A. Eva
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