Hedcor goes out of the conventional Solid

 Waste

 Management approaches and takes the program to household level. With this, garbage is not a liability no more but an easy source of money.

Selling recyclable items to the junkshop is a common thing. However, for far flung areas like Barangay Bineng in La Trinidad the hauling cost going to the junkshop is higher than the profit earned from it. This scenario is unappealing both to the residents and to the junkshop owners.

Innovating out of the circumstances, Hedcor devised a way for the junkshop to go to the households making sure that the two parties are earning from the activity. And that is how the Ecomarket

 Day

 program came about five years ago.

Hedcor conducts the Ecomarket

 Day

 in five locations in Itogon, Bakun and Sablan. Every host barangay has a schedule. This enable the residents to ready their discarded items when the truck comes. It also turned out as a fun yet earning activity the children are looking forward to. Not only that they helped their parents clear the yard out of defective appliances and unusable items but they also earn a month’s worth of allowance. On top of these, they help save the environment.

 “The residents that we’re working with share our vision for a cleaner environment and recognize the opportunity to turn garbage into money,” says Polution Control Officer Lito Ayyokad.

“From a trend perspective, we do expect more residents to join our Ecomarket

 Day

 to free their yards of garbage and to earn from it at the same time,” he adds.

Domestic waste

 is a growing concern. By going to the households, Hedcor shares the proper way to store and discard items. There is a strong fighting chance to inculcate solid

 waste

 management by simple waste

 segregation.

In Barangay Bineng alone 32-tons of recyclable items were sold to the junkshop since 2011 through the Ecomarket

 Day

. In five locations, the running total is 128 tons.