The study for the proposed Green Transformation (GX) Park formally began on Sept. 11 as the province seeks to establish a more integrated and sustainable waste management system.
The initiative is being pursued with GUUN Co. Ltd., a Yokohama-based company specializing in waste treatment, recycling, environmental consulting and systems integration.
GUUN already operates a waste-plastic recycling facility in Cebu and has experience working with local governments to develop waste management and recycling systems.
In her speech during the kickoff meeting, Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro stressed the need to translate the initiative into concrete action, saying Cebu’s mounting waste problem would require cooperation among the government, private businesses, industries and communities.
“We have to be people who walk the talk. To create the forest, we start by planting the seed,” Baricuatro said.
Framework
The project framework recognizes that no single sector can solve the waste problem and that the government, business sector and industries must work under a common plan.
“With everybody’s cooperation, we won’t fail. We cannot fail,” the governor added.
Yasuko Kurihara, deputy consul general of the Consulate General of Japan in Cebu, underscored the urgency of finding long-term solutions as the volume of waste continues to grow.
“We need to move beyond simply disposing of trash and find solutions,” Kurihara said.
She noted that the initiative coincides with the Philippines and Japan marking the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, highlighting the continuing cooperation between the two countries on environmental and development concerns.
The Philippines and Japan established diplomatic relations in 1956.
The meeting also discussed the Asian Circular Cities Declaration, which promotes collaboration among Asian countries through the exchange of knowledge, experience and plans for advancing a circular economy.
Proposal
The proposed GX Park is envisioned as a shared platform where the government, businesses and industries can coordinate their waste-reduction and resource-recovery efforts instead of addressing the problem separately.
Under the proposal, the GX Park would serve as an eco-industrial facility where waste materials could be processed, recycled and converted into valuable resources, including alternative fuels.
Provincial officials, however, stressed that technology alone would not resolve Cebu’s waste problem.
Rodel Bontuyan of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office said sustained public education and strict enforcement, particularly at the household level, would be crucial to the project’s success.
“Public education is very crucial. If you have good education but the enforcement is weak, we cannot achieve in the long run what we desire to achieve,” Bontuyan said.
Cebu Provincial Board Member Stanley Caminero also called for a practical assessment of measures that could strengthen discipline in waste management.
“The feasibility study has to be realistic,” he said.
The kickoff meeting brought together local officials and representatives of participating local government units and private-sector organizations.
Among those present were Provincial Board Members Caminero, Raymond Calderon and Kerrie Keane Shimura; mayors from several local government units, including Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival; and representatives of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Cebu Chamber of Harbors and Industry. —Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
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