MAKATI CITY — Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna issued a strong call for a national paradigm shift in waste management during the Norway-Philippines Circular Economy Conference 2026, held Thursday at the Makati Diamond Residences. Addressing an audience of government officials, private sector leaders, and environmental advocates, Cuna underscored that addressing the country’s worsening plastic pollution crisis requires moving beyond traditional disposal methods toward a regenerative economic model.
“We can no longer afford to view waste merely as a burden to be discarded,” Cuna stated during his keynote address. “Circularity must be integrated into our national economic strategy. We are not just talking about recycling; we are talking about the fundamental transformation of waste into high-value resources.”
The conference, which served as a platform for bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and Norway, highlighted the urgent need to bridge the gap between policy formulation and operational execution. Cuna emphasized that while the Philippines has established robust environmental frameworks, the transition from legislative intent to on-the-ground reality remains inconsistent.
“Effective policies remain stagnant if they are not translated into practical, scalable systems,” Cuna noted. He argued that the current trajectory of plastic consumption is unsustainable, urging industry stakeholders to take greater accountability for the full lifecycle of their products. By shifting from a linear “take-make-dispose” economy to one that prioritizes durability, repairability, and material recovery, the Secretary believes the nation can decouple economic growth from environmental degradation.
A central pillar of the Secretary’s address was the call for an inclusive circular economy that does not leave the country’s most vulnerable workers behind. Cuna explicitly highlighted the critical role of the informal waste sector—the thousands of waste collectors and junk shop operators who currently form the backbone of the nation’s recycling infrastructure.
“Any circularity initiative that ignores the informal sector is destined to fail,” Cuna said. “True progress requires an inclusive framework that recognizes, formalizes, and supports our waste collectors. They are the frontline agents of environmental protection, and they must be integrated into our formal systems with the dignity, safety, and compensation they deserve.”
The conference showcased various technologies and policy models from Norway, a global leader in circular economy implementation. Discussions focused on the adoption of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes, waste-to-energy innovations, and the standardization of material recovery facilities.
However, Cuna cautioned that technological solutions alone are insufficient without strengthened coordination between the public and private sectors. He challenged industry leaders to move beyond corporate social responsibility projects and instead adopt circularity as a core business imperative. The Secretary pledged that his department would double down on efforts to streamline bureaucratic requirements for circular businesses, incentivizing companies that invest in sustainable packaging and supply chain transparency.
The Norway-Philippines Circular Economy Conference 2026 is expected to result in a new series of collaborative pilot projects, aimed at optimizing plastic recovery rates in major urban centers. As the country prepares for the challenges of the next decade, Cuna’s message served as a sobering reminder: the plastic crisis is a systemic failure that requires a systemic solution.
“We are at a critical juncture,” Cuna concluded. “The transition to a circular economy is no longer a matter of environmental choice; it is an economic necessity for our development and a moral obligation to the generations that will follow.”
The event concluded with an agreement to establish a joint working group tasked with refining domestic waste management standards to align with international circularity benchmarks, ensuring that the partnership between the two nations yields measurable reductions in plastic leakage into the oceans.
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