The Japanese Embassy in Manila on Wednesday officially turned over a mobile material recovery facility and a biogas digester to the Pasig City government.

This project is part of the “Accelerating Nationally Determined Contributions through Circular Economy in Cities” initiative — a collaborative venture of the government of Japan, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa, Rep. Roman T. Romulo, Pasig City Mayor Victor Ma. Regis Sotto, Pasig City Vice Mayor Robert Vincent Jude B. Jaworski, DENR Undersecretary Analiza Rebuelta-Teh, UNDP Philippines Representative Selva Ramachandran, and other Pasig City officials attended the turnover ceremony.

Koshikawa expressed confidence that the project will enable Pasig City to reduce the amount of its waste that goes to the seas and transform its residents’ social behavior towards establishing a circular economy.

He likewise conveyed his hope for Pasig City to become a successful model that would cascade to other Philippine cities, in line with the common goal of achieving zero marine plastic waste by 2050.

The “Accelerating Nationally Determined Contributions through Circular Economy in Cities” initiative focuses on implementing circular economy solutions in five cities: Pasig, Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan and Cotabato.

This initiative provides co-benefits to the economy, job creation and environment, and supports Nationally Determined Contributions to enable and accelerate the Philippines’ transition to a circular economy. (PNA)