On May 20, 2021, PCX officially welcomed Janine Lansigan as the newest member of the Aling Tindera network. Janine’s neighborhood, Barangay 161, is located in Tondo, Manila, and is home to over 1,000 residents. Barangay 161 is the fourth of ten locations supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) program to address ocean plastic waste.
At 30 years old, Janine is a mother to Shantel, 10, and Kylie, 2, living with her husband, who helps run their sari-sari store. Like other store owners in the area, Janine considers this to be her primary source of income. Spending most of her time managing sales and engaging with customers, Janine chose to become her barangay’s Aling Tindera to help her neighbors earn cash from plastic and promote proper waste management within the community.
Janine Lansigan and PCX Standards and Compliance Manager, Richard De Guzman at the Aling Tindera collection infrastructure.
Janine admits that there was some adjustment required when she started accepting plastic waste from her community. However, she understands that by doing this, her neighbors can earn extra money, which can help pay for food. “That’s when I realized that being an Aling Tindera allows me to be an instrument for helping people, providing them a way to buy what they need most,” said Janine.
The Aling Tindera Waste-to-Cash program was launched in July 2020 and looks to engage 100 partners in the City of Manila. This program empowers women to become sustainability champions in their communities by providing collection points for post-consumer plastic waste that allow for the aggregating, storing, and efficient transportation to partner processing facilities that will ensure plastic does not wind up in nature but reenters the circular economy.
Janine at her sari-sari store, showing the custom made Aling Tindera shirt from her family
“Janine is a true sustainability champion to her community. In just two weeks, not only has she diverted over 800 kilograms of plastic waste away from the streets of Barangay 161, but she has also helped her neighborhood find ways to make extra income while cleaning up. We hope to engage with even more sari-sari store owners that can follow Janine’s footsteps,” said PCX Standards and Compliance Manager, Richard De Guzman.
PCX looks to pipeline locations outside Metro Manila, allowing other neighborhoods and future Aling Tinderas to take part in the fight against plastic waste.