ALILEM, ILOCOS SUR — What if the plastic bottle thrown away today could become a bridge to livelihood tomorrow?
In the mountain town of Alilem, Ilocos Sur, residents are proving that waste management does not always require expensive technology. Through community participation, functioning barangay Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs), skills training and local incentives, discarded plastic bottles and old fabrics are being transformed into useful products, community facilities and even an alternative means of crossing a river.
At the heart of the initiative is Alilem’s Search for the Cleanest and Greenest Barangay, a competition institutionalized in 2022 with waste diversion as one of its major criteria.
Instead of stopping at collection and disposal, the program pushes communities to recover, reuse and find practical applications for materials that would otherwise end up as garbage.
From 3,000 plastic bottles to an eco-raft
One of the most striking examples can be found in Barangay Kiat, where residents turned discarded plastic bottles into eco-rafts.
The idea emerged after the declining value of plastic bottles at junk shops made conventional recycling less attractive. At the same time, residents needed a raft to cross the river, particularly during the rainy season.
Rather than relying on additional bamboo or timber, residents used collected plastic bottles together with wooden planks to build a floating structure.
According to the municipality, about 3,000 plastic bottles have been used to build three eco-rafts, with two more potentially planned depending on demand and the availability of recovered bottles. One raft can reportedly carry a motorcycle and as many as six people.
The project was also powered by volunteerism. Residents, including members of the Motorcycle Drivers Association of Purok Agiwas, helped construct the raft through community labor.
The result was more than a recycling project.
It became a practical transportation solution—and created a small livelihood opportunity, with a reported P10 passenger fee for river crossings.
Plastic waste becomes community furniture
The town’s waste-diversion strategy does not stop at the river.
Residents also produce eco-bricks, made by tightly packing plastic bottles with cellophane and other soft plastics. These are incorporated into community furniture.
In Barangay Dadday, the initiative produced a 12-meter-long eco-bench, demonstrating how recovered materials can be redirected into useful public infrastructure rather than sent immediately to disposal facilities.
The concept is simple: collect waste, recover usable materials and give them a second purpose.
But Alilem’s approach goes one step further by teaching residents how to do it themselves.
Old clothes become products—and income
Through workshops conducted by the municipality’s Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO), residents learn how to transform plastic bottles and scrap fabrics into products such as rugs and potholders.
Local artisans and traditional weavers help train residents, while donated clothing supplies some of the raw materials.
The finished products are then displayed and sold through barangay eco-galleries, creating an avenue for communities to generate economic value from recovered materials.
The program has reportedly drawn strong participation, particularly from women and senior citizens.
This is where Alilem’s strategy becomes different from a conventional cleanup drive.
The goal is not simply to tell residents to throw garbage into the correct bin. It is to demonstrate what can happen after waste is segregated and recovered.
“There is money in trash”
Municipal Information Officer Lyzette Lacasandile said residents have become more conscious about waste because they are beginning to see its economic potential.
The municipality also reported a reduction in garbage collection volume as more materials are diverted through community activities.
Alilem estimates that roughly 80% of its total waste is being diverted, although the PIA report cautions that this figure requires continued monitoring and stronger documentation of the methodology behind the estimate.
That distinction matters.
The 80% figure should be viewed as a municipal estimate, rather than an independently verified national benchmark.
Why Alilem’s model is gaining attention
Alilem’s experience comes as environmental authorities continue pushing local governments across the Ilocos Region to strengthen implementation of the country’s ecological solid waste management law.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has repeatedly emphasized that Republic Act 9003 requires local governments to establish comprehensive solid waste management systems, including waste segregation, recovery, recycling and proper disposal.
The law’s emphasis on waste diversion also explains why initiatives such as Alilem’s are important: reducing the amount of waste sent for final disposal requires communities to recover materials before they reach the landfill or other disposal facilities.
The regional government picture, however, shows that major challenges remain.
At the 10th Regional Solid Waste Management Summit in February 2026, DENR-EMB Region 1 reported that 73 of the region’s 125 local government units had proper sanitary landfills. Officials also stressed the need to address operational gaps and strengthen accountability in solid waste management.
The same summit showcased upcycled products from LGUs and highlighted local practices that go beyond minimum compliance with RA 9003.
From waste-to-energy to waste-to-value
The broader Ilocos Region is also exploring other approaches to waste diversion.
In 2025, DENR-EMB Region 1 promoted co-processing, in which suitable non-recyclable plastic waste can be used as alternative fuel in cement production.
Officials and private-sector representatives also discussed Black Soldier Fly technology, which can convert biodegradable waste into animal feed and organic fertilizer. These initiatives were presented during the region’s ecological solid waste management discussions as potential ways to reduce waste going to disposal sites.
Alilem represents a different but complementary approach: instead of depending primarily on sophisticated processing systems, it makes use of local materials, local skills, barangay MRFs and volunteer participation.
That may be one reason the model is attracting interest from neighboring local governments.
The bigger lesson: waste management starts with people
Alilem’s story suggests that successful waste diversion is not simply about buying equipment or building facilities.
It is also about giving people a reason to participate.
A functioning MRF provides the recovered materials.
Training provides the skills.
Information campaigns explain why segregation matters.
Incentives encourage barangays to participate.
And residents provide the creativity and labor needed to turn discarded materials into something useful.
The municipality has allocated P485,000 for its Cleanest and Greenest Barangay competition, including incentives for top-performing barangays. The grand winner can receive as much as P80,000, while special awards recognize other environmental initiatives such as eco-gardens and eco-galleries.
The approach reflects the broader principle behind RA 9003: waste reduction and resource recovery should happen as close to the source as possible, with communities playing a central role.
But can the model last?
That may ultimately be the biggest test for Alilem.
Turning bottles into rafts and plastics into benches makes for compelling success stories—but a sustainable waste-diversion system must also consistently measure how much waste is actually being recovered, document its environmental impact and demonstrate that the economic benefits can continue.
The municipality itself recognizes this challenge.
For Alilem, the next step is not simply to create more eco-products. It is to sustain the behavior, strengthen the data and prove that community-based waste diversion can remain effective over the long term.
If that happens, Alilem’s biggest achievement may not be its eco-rafts or its 12-meter bench.
It may be changing the way an entire community looks at garbage.
Because in this Ilocos Sur town, the question is no longer simply “Where should the trash go?”
It is becoming:
“What can this trash become?”
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