THE local government of San Simon, through its Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office, recently awarded stakeholders who dominated in the challenge to make their communities environment-friendly.

The challenge dubbed #NoToPlasticPollutionYesToPlasticSolution urged villages and school communities to do their part in protecting and preserving the environment through proper waste segregation and use of ecobricking.

Ecobricking is the use of a plastic bottle packed with plastic to create a reusable building block to create modular furniture, garden spaces and full-scale buildings such as schools and houses.

Barangay San Juan, led by its Chairman Iristo Catindig, emerged as the big winner after besting 13 other barangays. It was named model barangay on ecobricking and proper waste segration.

Barangay San Juan’s winning entry was a materials recovery facility (MRF) designed with hundreds of ecobricks assembled by village residents, officials and stakeholders, with assistance from Holy Angel University civil engineering students, Catindig said.

The barangay took home the P25,000 cash prize for the ecobricking category, and another P25,000 for the proper waste management category.

Sta. Monica National High School, meanwhile, was recognized as the model school for ecobricking, while Concepcion Integrated School was the model school for the gulayan project.

Sta. Monica High School and Concepcion Integrated School also took home P25,000 each.

According to Mayor Leonora Wong, the awarding of winners aims to recognize the efforts of participants in joining the local government’s programs to further preserve and protect the environment.

Moreover, Wong expressed her hopes that other barangays, schools and even private companies will be encouraged to participate in the “#NoToPlasticPollutionYesToPlasticSolution” challenge and join hands in saving Mother Earth.

“We wanted to make sure that San Simon will remain a liveable community in the years to come by preserving it. We added cash prizes, which are actually huge, to entice others to participate and do their best for our Mother Earth,” she said.