The Youth for Dagat (YFD) plastic pollution awareness joint campaign of the France-Philippines United Action (FPUA), Plastic Odyssey Expedition (POE) and Delfingen Foundation (DF) is now on Phase 2 mode.

From conducting plastic recycling workshops to Filipino youths onboard the POE ship under Phase 1 that started last year, YFD-2, launched at the Alliance Française de Manille in Makati City last 24 March, brings recycling technology to local schools and communities to promote sustainable waste management.

Students from the University of the Philippines, Far Eastern University, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, World Citi Colleges, Adamson University and Miriam College also will get hands-on plastic recycling training at the country’s first plastic recycling factories.

DF, the CSR arm of the French automotive solutions company Delfingen, is hosting the recycling workshops at the Delfingen-PH micro-factories in Cavite and Cebu.

“We are so glad to have this project also for the youth in order for us to get engaged through education and to encourage young entrepreneurs to get engaged in addressing plastic pollution,” Delfingen-PH general manager and Cavite site manager Archer John Filipino said at the launching event.

Filipino said the youth can visit the plant and start learning under the supervision of Plastic Odyssey Factories’ (POF) R&D and recycling engineer Maxime Thirouin and DF personnel.

“We are so committed to continue and pursue the activities in tackling plastic pollution in the country,” Filipino said.

POF, a Plastic Odyssey company, is building a global network of recycling units or micro-factories in Africa and Southeast Asia. DF provided funding and technical support to POF to build the micro-factories in Cebu and Manila. 

The recycling unit, fitted in a 20-foot steel cargo container, transform plastic waste into valuable products such as furniture, pavers, tiles and construction materials like plastic lumbers.

“We focus primarily on extrusion processes to produce plastic lumber, providing a sustainable alternative to wood and helping to prevent deforestation. This plastic lumber can be used to create furniture, housing components, flooring and beach pontoons, among other applications,” Thirouin said.

“We also utilize extrusion machines that combine plastic waste with materials such as sand, glass or rubble to manufacture pavers, bricks and tiles. Another recycling process involves creating decorative plastic sheets for interior furniture using thermal and cold press machines to mold and shape the sheets,” he added.

Student Ambassador Program

FPUA, a non-governmental organization originally established by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines and the French Embassy in 2015 to coordinate French companies’ rehabilitation efforts for communities devastated by typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan), now implements CSR projects of French companies in the Philippines. It said the YFD-2’s Student Ambassador Program (SAP) is designed to equip participants with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills to address plastic pollution.

Students will gain an understanding of the impact of plastic pollution and the solutions available to mitigate it. The training covered a wide range of topics, from the composition and life cycle of plastic to effective waste reduction strategies. The training also introduces students to key steps of the recycling process, from waste collection to its transformation into valuable products, as well as innovative low-tech recycling solutions implemented worldwide.

In addition to fostering awareness, the SAP will empower students to take concrete action in their respective universities and communities. Through a Design Thinking Workshop, they will contribute to the development and implementation of waste management initiatives, including the installation of segregated eco-bins on their campuses.

Moreover, the student ambassadors will play a central role in the organization and facilitation of the Summit on Plastic Solutions, which will be held in parallel with the United Nations Conference on the Ocean in June in Nice, France. This Summit will engage stakeholders in meaningful discussions and propose innovative strategies for tackling plastic pollution.

At the YFD-2 launching, Thirouin said the mission of POE and POF, together with its institutional partner DF is to prevent plastic waste from reaching the ocean.

“Once plastic waste reaches the ocean, it becomes extremely challenging to remove. Studies show that 99 percent of plastic waste in the ocean sinks or breaks down into microplastics, which are nearly impossible to recover. These microplastics contaminate marine ecosystems, enter the food chain, and pose significant environmental and health risks,” he said.

The recycling engineer said that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is often discussed as a visible symbol of ocean pollution.

“However, it is not a solid, floating island of trash, but rather a dispersed collection of microplastics and waste particles suspended throughout the water column, making it difficult to see with the naked eye... and to remove it from the ocean,” he said. 

Thirouin said the micro-factories would be crucial to preventing plastic waste from ending up in the ocean.