The report entitled Circular Economy in the City: A Rapid Ethnographic Research on Circular Economy in a Philippine Urban Setting highlights the urgency to shift to a more circular economic model in the Philippines due to the burgeoning problem of unsustainable production and consumption.

The report informs us about the advantages of the circular economy: it could help in preventing biodiversity loss, fighting climate change, and addressing the waste problem with potential to provide green novel jobs. We can see the gravity of the situation in the Philippines, as it named the third largest source of discarded waste – bulk of which is plastic waste that ends up in the ocean.

There is a lot of potential in implementing circular economy in the city as it is a center for innovation with high concentration of capital, resources, and data. With this in mind, this research seeks to have a structured understanding of the professional and lived experiences of people from various sectors within a circular economy ecosystem in Pasig City. Thereby, the researchers were able to have a real live look at the status quo across the cross-section of people interviewed in the study, the results of which have been used to supplement the series of a multi-stakeholders workshops on the systemic design in circular economy in Pasig City.

The analysis of the interviews conducted for this research surfaced several insights: (1) The city has two distinct symbolic communities: formal and informal; (2) Because of the inherent uniqueness of these communities, solutions to should be a combination of education, awareness, incentivization, and punitive actions; (3) Leveraging kapitbahayan and the spirit of volunteerism generates support and engagement for government programs; (4) If waste is perceived as a commodity that has value, this encourages people to treat it differently; (5) The local governments are in the best position to leverage the ecosystem by supporting sectors working in the city through a combination of business, technology, and policy. (6) The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions and surfaced new challenges affecting all sectors; and, (7) Circular economy-related projects and initiatives do not seem to follow a common and cohesive strategic vision.

Also, the report presents recommendations as a way forward for the circularity in Pasig City: (1) Ensure diversity and inclusiveness in the co-design of the problem agenda and solutions-making; (2) Keep in mind social behavior when putting in place structural interventions; (3) Adapting a portfolio approach that encompasses policy, advocacy, interventions, and behavior; (4) Ensure that incentivization, in any form, should be accessible to all sectors; and, (5) Ensure the provision of a governance mechanism that could lead to the coherent, cohesive, and integrated framework that circular economy actors can adhere to.

Read more about the report: https://bit.ly/CEintheCity.