Brick Project Scubasurero

AboitizPower turns waste collection into a purposeful activity

January 31, 2025

To promote a circular economy of resource recycling, what is otherwise considered as facility waste is turned into a viable raw material for construction and industry.

In the promotion of sustainable industrialization and grassroots development, Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower) partners with various organizations for local communities to benefit from innovating on the uses of fly ash, which is a byproduct of the combustion of coal in power generation.

In particular, AboitizPower’s Therma South and Therma Visayas power plants, together with the Aboitiz Foundation, Inc., helped establish and sustain the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities through Kaibigans, or the BRICK Hub project, which upcycles the fly ash along with plastic waste to high-value eco-bricks and eco-pavers.

Following standardized guidelines on solid waste management, AboitizPower employs environmentally sound methods to efficiently collect and send its fly ash for free to BRICK Hub operators. Although initially tagged as hazardous, the fly ash from the facilities is conditioned to be non-hazardous before being sent to its partners to use as raw materials.

Green Antz Builders, Inc. is the social enterprise that serves as the BRICK Hub project’s technical partner, having provided the eco-brick model and the necessary skills training to become brick makers and installers. About 100 plastic sachets are mixed with fly ash and a special mixture by Green Antz to produce an eco-brick, which is nine times stronger than the typical hollow block.

The entire enterprise benefits the community in two ways. First, the host communities are encouraged to collect and give their plastic waste via collection points and eco-stores, where bags of plastic sachets — like those from shampoo and coffee products — can be traded in for sacks of rice or school supplies, courtesy of the BRICK Hub. Second, cooperatives that operate the BRICK Hub also provide livelihood as people in the community are hired to produce and sell the eco-bricks and eco-pavers. Barangays Binugao and Inawayan in Davao del Sur and barangays Bato, Awihao, and Cabitoonan in Toledo City, Cebu are its beneficiaries.

The Therma South and Therma Visayas power plants helped set up their iterations of the BRICK Hub in 2021 and 2022, respectively, with the Aboitiz Foundation providing funding for site development. The power plants also look to assist in expanding the BRICK Hubs’ partners and linkages, including the exploration of research and development initiatives for more sustainable construction materials.

Given the resilience of eco-bricks and eco-pavers, as well as its positive contribution to solid waste management, some local government units have also shown interest in replicating the BRICK Hub in support of sustainable infrastructure development in their localities.

Therma Visayas is the 340-megawatt (MW) baseload power plant in barangay Bato, Toledo City, while Therma South is the 300-MW baseload power plant located in Binugao, Toril, Davao City. These coal-fired facilities both have coal domes, which safely stores coal deposits and prevents dust pollution caused by its combustion.

Scubasureros

Last year, AboitizPower invited diving enthusiasts called Scubasureros — a combination of the words scuba divers and basureros or garbage collectors — to dive in the jetty of its 340-megawatt Therma Visayas power plant. Located at the western coast of Cebu Island bordering Toledo City, the plant faces the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape, the largest marine protected area in the Philippines, covering 534,589 hectares.

“Usually, in other areas, we already see trash on the way to the dive site. But before the dive in the power plant jetty, we didn't see any trash,” said Agnes Sabonsolin-Bautista, diver and marine biologist. “During the dive, the reef was pretty clean, and in the rock and rubble area, a lot of new coral growth was observed. We saw several fish species too.”

“When we volunteered for this Scubasurero dive, our assumption was that we’d be collecting trash underwater. We thought the columns of the jetty would be entangled with a lot of trash. But when we went down, it was the exact opposite. Instead of trash, we found a thriving ecosystem instead,” added Roxie Diaz, marine biologist.

This was verified by a Marine Biodiversity Assessment Report by environmental firm Ridge to Reef, which found 56 species of fishes residing in coral reefs within the power plant’s vicinity. It also recorded six seagrass species and 28 genera of phytoplankton in the area, as well as 15 species of macroinvertebrates. To date, 14 different species of mangroves have been recorded across the coastline.

These results and observations reflect Therma Visayas’ regular monitoring of the marine biodiversity within and near its site of operations, complying with the provisions of its Environmental Compliance Certificate and other environmental plans to protect and conserve the coastal area and the waters. Moreover, Therma Visayas also holds regular coastal clean-up drives along Toledo’s shores together with the local community, with over 9,300 kilograms of trash collected in foreshore areas since 2022.

“This shows how Therma Visayas is a partner when it comes to resource management, protection, and preservation in the area where they operate. We see how they take care of the sites where their structures are, as well the fulfillment of their social responsibilities to the community,” Diaz said.

“The power plant has a coastal resource management program, which includes our information, education, and communication campaign for our host community regarding solid waste management and policies on the Strait Protected Seascape,” said Therma Visayas Environmental Supervisor Emalyn Sevilla.

“We also support the livelihood of our local fisherfolks through training like how to build and maintain fiber glass boats, done in partnership with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources,” she added.

The Scubasurero project is being managed closely with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Tañon Strait Protected Seascape; Toledo’s City Environment & Natural Resources Office and City Agriculture Office; Bantay Dagat; and the Philippine Coast Guard. Composed of marine biologists, Therma Visayas team members, and volunteers, the Scubasureros have explored submerged coastal areas since 2022, observing marine ecosystems and leading underwater clean-up efforts. Dives at the nearby Bato Marine Sanctuary have resulted in close to two tons of plastic waste amassed.

Between 2017 to 2023, AboitizPower contributed to SDG 14 (Life Below Water) through 246 coastal and river cleanup activities, resulting in 162,847 kilograms of waste collected.