Moving Up the Recycling Value Chain

USAID is proud to be part of the global movement to combat ocean plastic pollution by supporting strong solid waste management in rapidly urbanizing areas around the world. This video is the third in a series featuring USAID’s work to address ocean plastics in the Philippines.

In the Philippines, both formal and informal private sector actors manage the recycling value chain. Small recycling centers called junk shops play a critical role in this chain by purchasing recyclables from independent waste collectors and then reselling to larger materials processing facilities.

Junk shop ownership is a key pathway to economic empowerment for women: a female junk shop owner can typically sell plastic recyclables at a price that is 50 percent higher than what female waste collectors and street sweepers can get for selling similar plastic recyclables. Despite the opportunities that lie in junk shop ownership, women are often limited to informal sector, unpaid roles in waste management, currently making up only a third of junk shop owners in the Philippines.[1]

Through a local partner, USAID equipped informal waste collectors and small-scale junk recyclers with skills and seed capital to improve shop operations and increase profits, creating more opportunities for women further up the recycling value chain. This included training on bookkeeping and tactics to offset market price fluctuations. The program also provided equipment such as pedicabs and carts to increase collection capacity.  

With USAID support, Nora Apues has steadily grown her junk shop business, serving as a recycling and trading hub for multiple communities across Malabon City. Her shop has become so successful that she recently transferred to a larger property to accommodate the volume of recyclables she manages.

[1] https://oceanconservancy.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/The-Role-of-Gender-in-Waste-Management.pdf