SM Waste-Free Future Illustrates Doable Actions for a Cleaner, Greener Planet

Becoming part of the solution toward better waste management practices has been made easier by SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SM Prime) with The SM Waste-Free Future (WFF) Manual.

Launched at SM’s first Sustainability Expo, the 17-page visual guide offers a simple and easy-to-follow resource on how everyone can engage with waste management touchpoints available in their most-loved SM Supermalls.

“The easiest way to adopt sustainable practices is a two-pronged approach,” said SM Supermalls Vice President for Corporate Compliance and Sustainability, Liza Silerio. “The first is building the avenues that make waste management accessible and easy to do. The second is ensuring that these are easy habits to build and practice in our daily lives.”

The manual combines text and visuals to enhance the “Learn – Practice – Champion” workflow, a three-step approach to make these practices easy to adapt and eventually pass on, with additional green tips and trivia.  Understanding how even small, thoughtful steps can make a huge difference is key to helping reduce waste sent to landfills.

Back to Basics: Familiarization

The base for effective waste management is Thinking before Tossing.  After SM Prime’s sustainability team conducted a Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (WACS) across the SM Prime Headquarters and the Mall of Asia Complex, the top 10 most common waste items were identified: 

1. PET Bottles
2. Plastic Cutlery
3. Single-use plastic
4. Plastic cups from coffee or milk tea
5. Soiled coffee paper cups
6. Soiled food containers
7. Food packaging and sachets
8. Soiled tissue or napkins
9. Soiled diapers/ sanitary products
10. Food waste

The SM Waste Free Future manual encourages everyone to properly dispose of waste by using designated Recyclable-Disposable-Compostable (RDC) bins made accessible in all SM Malls.

PET Bottles are categorized for the Blue “Recyclable” Bins to help return these to factories for recycling.

Disposable items and containers such as plastic cutlery, single-use plastic, plastic cups from coffee or milk tea, soiled coffee paper cups and food containers, food packaging and sachets, and soiled tissue or napkins, diapers, and sanitary products are for tossing into the gray “Disposable” Bins.

Finally, all food waste with no packaging and cutlery are guided to the green “Compostable” Bins.

As one of the fastest-growing solid waste streams in the world, Electronic Waste (E-Waste), ranging from batteries to broken gadgets and technological accessories, gets special mention. SM Supermalls promotes proper disposal of e-waste through special bins in SM Cyberzone areas as easy drop-off points for recycling or processing before disposal of small, used, and defective electronic devices.

Take-action, join the movement

Every first Friday and Saturday of the month from 10:00am to 2:00pm, mallgoers can bring their trash and convert it to cash. Trash-to-Cash encourages household segregation by bringing clean and dry recyclables in designated Trash-to-Cash areas in exchange for economic incentives. The program promotes sustainable systems and the advancement of the circular economy.

To further divert plastics from the environment, SM implements its Plastic Waste Collection program across all of its properties. Since its integration in 2019, 70,000 kilograms of clean, empty, and dry consumer plastics have been collected.

Through SM Cares, SM Prime’s corporate social responsibility arm, organizes regular coastal cleanups for communities to mitigate the problem of marine pollution by removing waste before it spreads further in the seas. Last year, volunteers were able to divert 200,000 kilograms of marine litter from the ocean through three major coastal cleanups organized nationwide on top of weekly cleanups done by SM Estates.

Another Coastal Cleanup drive has been scheduled this year on March 22 across SM La Union. SM City Urdaneta Central, SM City Tanza, SM City J Mall, SM City Daet, SM City Consolacion for World Water Day.
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“Communicating waste management practices clearly and easily helps our stakeholders support our vision for a Waste Free Future. When we all come together and choose to help save our planet, even the smallest actions toward the right direction yield great results,” said Silerio.