Quezon City-  Refilling sustainability into Filipino tingi culture called kuha sa tingi, a project seeking to establish refill systems in communities. This is a Greenpeace Philippines project in partnership with Innovation Catalyst and was piloted by the Quezon City and San Juan City governments. Respectively, and has since resulted in avoiding tens of thousands of single-use plastic packaging, generating savings for consumers, and increasing profits for sari-sari store owners who took up the refilling model.This March 22, 2024 at B Hotel. 

Kuha sa Tingi: Bringing back sustainability into Filipino tingi culture, is published by Greenpeace Philippines. It presents the successes of the “Kuha sa Tingi” project that seeks to replace single-use plastics with refill systems as a means to mitigate plastic pollution across the plastic lifecycle, while revitalizing the ethos of the Filipino tingi culture not the sachet culture. 

“This report proves that sachet pollution will be a thing of the past when reuse and refill systems are adopted at scale,” said Marian Ledesma.  The Kuha sa Tingi project introduced small-portion refill systems for personal and home care products in city sari-sari stores at highly competitive price points. 

Mayor Joy Belmonte of Quezon City, shared: “While Quezon City targets the reduction of its solid waste generation by 50% in 2030, sachet waste that clogs our waterways and drainage systems demands immediate action. Innovative programs like Kuha sa Tingi tackle this challenge head-on. By transforming sari-sari stores into refill hubs for everyday essentials such as liquid detergent, fabric conditioner, multi-purpose cleaner, and dishwashing liquid, we are empowering our residents to embrace a sustainable lifestyle by choosing reusable options, creating a win-win solution that protects our environment, saves money for our residents, and increases income for store owners.” shared, Mayor Joy Belmonte of Quezon City.

Mayor Francis Zamora of San Juan City represented by Public Information Officer Brian M. Geli says, “Kuha sa Tingi has proven to be an effective program in San Juan City to lower the use of single-use plastic, increase environmental awareness, and provide livelihood to our constituents. I would like to thank Greenpeace and RippleX for making this possible in the city. We hope to replicate this in other areas in the city and Metro Manila.”

 “The incredible response from cities looking to adopt #KuhaSaTingi showcases a growing desire for practical solutions. RIPPLEx is proud to be a part of this movement and offer a model that provides an economic response in achieving  community well-being alongside environmental sustainability.” stressed, Ces Rondario, CEO & Founder of RIPPLEx.

“Aside from selling products as refills, through this project, I learned that plastic waste has become a large problem in society. Every time we buy sachets, we merely throw them anywhere. If we purchase refills, we will be able to avoid plastic waste altogether,” expressed by Narciso Marcelo, a sari-sari store owner from Brgy. West Crame, San Juan City.

“The government must drive major investment into these solutions while instituting strong policies to regulate and eliminate single-use plastics. With political will, as seen in Quezon City and San Juan City, these models can be effectively replicated and scaled up, and will provide benefits to citizens and the local government unit by reducing sachet pollution, material resource usage, and greenhouse gas emissions. In doing so, they subsequently decrease the harms felt by affected communities throughout the lifecycle of plastic.“

Finally, the report concludes that accelerating the transition to reuse and refill systems, as well as reducing and eventually eliminating the production of single-use disposable plastic products and packaging will secure environmental justice, contribute to better health outcomes, advance climate action, and protect the well-being of every FIlipino.

According to Geli,  San Juan Mayor Zamora as President of Metro Manila Council. They have plans to launch tentatively this coming May or June  to all 17 LGU in the National Capital Region the Tingi concept in Sari sari store for its productive impact in the business and environment.

///Mary Jane Olvina-Balaguer, +639053611058, maryjaneolvina@gmail.com and konekted@dzmjonline.net

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