The Philippines is drowning in its own waste—literally and figuratively. We generate over 21 million tons of garbage every year, including 2.7 million metric tons of plastic. Much of it never even reaches proper disposal or recycling. Instead, it leaks into waterways, washes up on beaches, clogs drainage systems, and pollutes the very ecosystems on which we depend.
Despite progressive policies such as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 and the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022, implementation remains patchy and uneven. Local government units (LGUs) are responsible for implementing these mandates. Still, many are left to do so without the basic tools, including collection trucks, segregation facilities, trained staff, and budgetary support. What is missing is not will—it is logistics.
And that is the truth we must confront: the circular economy is not just a philosophy or a framework. It is a physical system. It only works if materials can flow continuously—collected, sorted, processed, and fed back into the economy. Currently, that system is flawed at every critical point of movement.
In urban centers, trucks struggle to keep up with the volume. In rural barangays, collection routes are inconsistent or nonexistent. Many LGUs operate without functioning Material Recovery Facilities. Informal waste workers, who perform the lion’s share of actual recovery, are marginalized and excluded from formal logistics chains.
Compostables decay in landfills. Recyclables get buried or burned. What could be resources become thrash.
Meanwhile, innovators in the private sector and civil society—those developing eco-bricks, plastic boards, seaweed packaging, and recycled construction materials—are repeatedly hamstrung by the same problem: they cannot access the waste streams they need. Their work depends on a system that connects consumers to processors with speed, reliability, and scale. But in the Philippines, that connection simply does not exist.
Such is the missing link in our waste strategy. We can legislate all we want. We can educate, campaign, and innovate. But without the infrastructure to move materials where they need to go—efficiently, transparently, and at scale—nothing changes. At best, our progress remains anecdotal and limited to small-scale applications. At worst, we slide backward while thinking we are moving forward.
The solution is clear: we must treat logistics as essential infrastructure for sustainability. Here is what that looks like:
- Invest in local collection systems: Many cities rely on outdated vehicles and untrained personnel, resulting in inefficiencies and uncollected waste. The national government must enable LGUs to upgrade logistics through green financing tools—such as climate funds, matching grants, or public-private partnerships. No LGU should be asked to do this alone.
- Develop regional recovery and processing hubs: Instead of pushing everything to centralized landfills, we must build decentralized facilities that can handle composting, recycling, and upcycling close to the source of waste.
- Leverage technology: AI can sort waste with high accuracy. Blockchain can create tamper-proof waste tracking systems that ensure producers comply with EPR mandates. Mobile apps can connect households with pickup services and incentivize segregation.
- Integrate the informal sector: Provide training, safety gear, and formal contracts for waste pickers. They are already embedded in the waste economy—now they need legal and financial recognition to thrive.
- Support Reverse Logistics: Offer subsidies, green bonds, and public-private partnerships that help waste-focused businesses retrieve post-consumer waste from end-users, especially in rural areas.
These are not moonshot solutions. They are practical and proven strategies that can be adapted to our specific context. And they are necessary—because the cost of inaction is piling up around us.
Our ASEAN neighbors are showing what is possible. Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green Economy turns agro-waste into exports. Singapore digitally tracks waste flows and mandates producer accountability. Vietnam is building eco-industrial parks. The Philippines can lead, too—but only if it solves its logistics gap. We are not starting from scratch. We have the laws, the talent
Every uncollected bag of waste is a lost opportunity. Every unrecycled bottle is a missed chance for local industry. Every landfill expansion is a reminder of failure. If we want to create jobs, reduce emissions, protect biodiversity, and build climate resilience, then logistics must be at the forefront of our sustainability agenda.
The circular economy is not a dream we can defer; it is a reality we can achieve. Around the world, countries are shifting their policies, industries are reevaluating their materials, and consumers are demanding change. If the Philippines fails to build the logistics infrastructure needed to participate meaningfully in this shift, we risk becoming the world’s dumping ground and a warning to others.
But it does not have to be this way. We are not starting from scratch. We have the laws, the talent, the ideas, and the urgency. What we lack is a clear, funded, and integrated logistics plan that links vision with execution.
Because no matter how visionary our plans are, they are only as strong as the routes, fleets, and people that carry them out.
Let us stop thinking of waste as a problem to be buried—and start seeing it as a resource to be utilized. The difference between a trash heap and a circular economy is not a matter of policy. It is a matter of logistics.
The trash is not waiting. Neither should we.
[Alfredo E. Pascual is an Independent Director of BDO Unibank and a Regent of the University of the Philippines (UP). He has served as Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), President of the UP System, Director of Private Sector Operations at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), President of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), CEO of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), and Finance Professor at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM).]
