Subic Bay Freeport – The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Ecology Center bagged the Best Ecological Solid Waste Management Practices award during the Environmental Summit 2025 held at Widus Hotel, Clark, Pampanga on August 29, 2025.
With the theme “Ending Global Plastic Pollution,” the summit organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Central Luzon aims to honor defenders of environmental protection and sustainable solutions.
According to Ecology Center Officer-in-Charge Rossell Abuyo, the said award recognizes the commitment and dedication of the department’s “outstanding solid waste enforcement and implementation in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.”
She said that one of the programs that has left a mark on the SBMA’s credibility as the Best Ecological Solid Waste Management Practices is the Recyclables Collection Event (RCE), which is held semi-annually.
She added that various hazardous wastes that have been collected during the week-long 16th RCE range from used oil, waste from electronics and electrical equipment, used lead acid batteries (ULAB), oily water, used cooking oil, oil-contaminated materials, busted fluorescent bulbs (BFLs), busted LED bulbs, expired medicines, sharps, and contaminated containers.
Some of the recyclables collected during the event included used papers, cartons, PET bottles, other plastic materials, used slippers, tin cans, aluminum, copper, and other metals.
The recyclables collected reached 10,669.74 kilograms, with materials collected by 142 donors, including SBMA Departments, SBF companies, and residents.
The agency also holds Recycling Day in Subic Bay Freeport Housing Areas on Saturdays to collect all recyclables. The collection activity started last July 6, 2024, targeting SBF residents from Binictican, Kalayaan, and Cubi areas. “Efficient management of our solid waste will also serve as our adaptation strategy to help combat climate change. Championing waste management is one of the pillars to achieve our goal for a carbon-neutral Subic Bay Freeport,” Abuyo said.