LocationsMoeko Saito-Jensen, Edlin Lumanog, Engr. Neil Ravena, Ricardo Alindayu II, Blue Motus
From Waste to Resources: Iloilo City's Journey Towards a Circular Economy
September 8, 2026
Emiliano “Alog” Rosario, a worker at Iloilo City’s Vermicomposting Facility showing the shredded vegetable leftovers as a substrate for vermicomposting process; basically, a feed to the African Night Crawler (earthworm).
Blue Motus / UNDP
"Iloilo City's journey towards a circular economy began in late 2024. Since then, the city has come a long way," said Ms. Joanrae Mercado, Senior Environmental Management Specialist of the Iloilo City Environment and Natural Resources Office.
Her reflection captures a profound shift taking place in Iloilo City: transforming waste from a problem into a resource and building a city where materials remain in use for as long as possible.
As the economic hub of Western Visayas, Iloilo City is powered by trade, education, tourism, and services. Its cultural heritage, modern infrastructure, and vibrant events such as the Dinagyang Festival continue to attract residents, investors, and visitors alike.
But growth also brings challenges. Every day, Iloilo City generates an estimated 592 tons of municipal solid waste, about 1.2 kg per person (higher than the average for a highly urbanized city, due to the City’s rapid commercial and industrial growth).
The challenge is no longer simply how to collect and dispose of waste. Instead, the city is asking a more ambitious question: How can waste be prevented, recovered, and transformed into new resources, products, and livelihoods?
Supported by the EU-PH Green Economy Partnership under Specific Objective 2: Green LGUs through Global Gateway, Iloilo City is advancing its circular economy transition through SIRCOL (Sustainable, Inclusive, and Resilient Circular Solutions for Optimized Resources Toward a Livable Iloilo City), fostering a coordinated and community-driven approach to sustainable growth.
Designing Waste Out of the System
A circular economy is about keeping resources in use and minimizing waste. Rather than treating waste prevention, segregation, collection, recycling, and recovery as separate activities, Iloilo City is working to connect them into a single system.
A key part of this transition is robust data. Through a Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (WACS), the city is gaining a clearer understanding of its waste streams and identifying opportunities to reduce waste and recover valuable materials. These findings are helping shape Iloilo City's 10-year Solid Waste Management Plan and integrate circular economy principles into future planning.
Iloilo City personnel demonstrating to EU-PH Green Economy: Green LGUs Project Staff the proper process of feeding the earthworm with shredded vegetable leftovers for vermicomposting.
Blue Motus / UNDP
Turning Organic Waste into a Resource
One of the city's greatest opportunities lies in organic waste. Nearly half of Iloilo City's waste stream, approximately 288 tons per day, is biodegradable. When properly segregated and processed, these materials can be transformed into valuable resources instead of being sent to landfill.
To harness this potential, the city is operationalizing three vermicomposting facilities that process segregated market waste. Together, the facilities can handle approximately 750 kilograms of biodegradable waste daily to produce compost used for public gardens.
Trained and skilled LGU workers happily working to repair and refurbish benches used by the city government.
Blue Motus / UNDP
Repair Before Replace
Circularity is not only about recycling. It is also about extending product lifespans.
Iloilo City's Repair Hub, for instance, promotes a "repair-first" approach for government-owned vehicles, furniture, and equipment. Before purchasing replacements, damaged assets are assessed for repair or refurbishment.
Since August 2025, the Repair Hub has repaired or refurbished 47 items, including chairs, tables, government vehicles, and equipment, diverting approximately 500 kilograms of material from landfill disposal.
Measuring up! Precise measurement being conducted by women sewers, making sure that used linens are converted into fashionable clothing or usable tote bags.
Blue Motus / UNDP
Creating Value from Discarded Materials
People are at the center of Iloilo City's circular economy journey.
The city is supporting upcycling initiatives led by the Women in Iloilo City for Sustainable Economy (WISE) group, which transforms discarded hotel linens, tarpaulins, and textiles into bags, and designed dresses.
Iloilo is also exploring ways to recover other materials in partnership with informal waste workers through the city's central Materials Recovery Facility. Shredded plastics may be used as feedstock for refuse-derived fuel (RDF) in cement kilns, while crushed glass bottles can be incorporated into brick manufacturing. Pulverized oyster shells are also explored as materials for soil enhancements.
Recognizing the vital role of informal waste workers, the city is supporting members of the Uswag Calajunan Livelihood Association (UCLA) through improved equipment, formal recognition, and livelihood opportunities linked to Materials Recovery Facilities.
Turning Waste Diversion into Sustainable Financing
Another promising aspect of Iloilo City's transition is its potential to generate sustainable financing.
Working with the private sector, the city is exploring opportunities under the Philippines' Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act. By improving waste collection, segregation, recycling, and recovery systems, Iloilo City can generate diversion certificates that help companies meet their EPR obligations. Revenue from these certificates can then be reinvested into Materials Recovery Facilities, waste worker support programs, and other circular economy initiatives.
Making Circularity Part of Everyday Life
Lasting change starts with people. That is why behavior change is at the heart of Iloilo City's circular economy strategy.
Through SIRCOL, behavior change campaigns are being implemented across eight barangays and 15 schools, encouraging residents, students, and local stakeholders to adopt more sustainable waste management practices.
A flagship campaign focuses on the Iloilo River, a waterway of profound cultural and historical significance that ultimatelyflows into the ocean. The campaign's message is simple yet powerful: protecting the Iloilo River from waste pollution meanssafeguarding Iloilo City's culture, heritage, environment, and future for generations to come.
Technology is also helping drive engagement. QR code-enabled plastic collection bins developed by Rezbin, equipped with AI-powered waste detection and rewards systems, will be installed at 25 locations across schools, businesses, and government institutions. The initiative aims to engage around 7,500 users and divert up to 25 tons of plastic waste annually from landfills and waterways.
Angelita “ Neneng” Villavicencio, a member of the Uswag Calahunan Livelihood Association (UCLA), an organized group of waste workers at the LGU Central MRF, being ready to sort and collect recyclables from incoming truckloads of collected wastes. These recyclables are then sold by the organization to junk shops to supplement their member’s daily income.
Blue Motus / UNDP
Reimagining the Future
Iloilo City's circular economy vision extends beyond today's projects and looks toward the future of its circular economy infrastructure.
The 23-hectare Calajunan Sanitary Landfill Facility remains an important part of the city's waste management system. However, as more materials are recovered and diverted from disposal, the city is exploring opportunities to rehabilitate the site and transform it into an Eco-Industrial Park.
Potential initiatives include landfill gas recovery and the productive reuse of rehabilitated land for green industries and circular economic activities. Iloilo is also exploring large-scale anaerobic digestion facilities and waste-to-electricity projects in partnership with the private sector.
As part of its circular economy transition, the city is also strengthening the protection of its coastal and marine ecosystems through initiatives such as the 2025 Coastal Greenbelt Policy, which helps safeguard biodiversity, enhance resilience, and support sustainable growth.
Building a More Circular Iloilo
Iloilo City's journey demonstrates that a circular economy is a new way of thinking about resources, value, and growth, not only for the city but also for the wider province. Through inter-local cooperation, it offers a replicable model that brings neighboring LGUs together to advance shared sustainability goals.
This is the promise of SIRCOL: less waste, longer-lasting products, recovered resources, greener livelihoods, and a more resilient urban economy.
♻️ The #EUPHGreenEconomyPartnership is funded by the European Union in the Philippines as part of the EU’s#GlobalGateway initiative and spearheaded by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to support a green, just, and sustainable future.
🌏 Co-led by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and implemented by UNDP Philippines, its Specific Objective 2 (SO2) #GreenLGUs empowers local governments and communities to lead inclusive circular economy transitions—reducing plastic and organic waste, creating green jobs, and building climate resilient local systems rooted in sustainability.
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