Sachet-made chairs with dividers important this pandemic

World Vision and Procter and Gamble Philippines donated upcycled chairs to a school.

“When I first saw these classroom chairs, I was impressed. I didn’t know that the sachets we collected before could be used to make chairs,” Dr. Emelbon Mayrina, Catmon Integrated School Principal, said referring to the green classroom chairs.

The chairs, partly made from sachets that teachers and students collected for several months, is part of Procter and Gamble (P&G) and World Vision’s Pag-asa sa Basura Project that intend to boost plastic waste recovery in the Philippines.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reported in 2018 that about half of all the plastic waste that ends up in the oceans merely come from five countries: China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Pag-asa sa Basura is also grounded on RA 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

With no physical classes, the upcycled chairs will be used by teachers during distribution of student workbooks and parent consultation. “The white dividers attached to its arm are helpful to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The users will have additional protection,” Dr. Mayrina said.

Prior to the pandemic, P&G and World Vision educated parents, teachers and parents on solid waste management. “We trained more than 50 teachers and parents on plastic waste segregation, urban agriculture and hydroponics. We also provided incentives to students, like school supplies, whenever they bring kilos of sachets or used bottles that they collected for weeks,” Diane Lara, World Vision staff, explained.

To date, P&G and World Vision provided more than 1,000 upcycled chairs to 26 schools in Malabon and Quezon City.