Leading real estate developer in Southeast Asia, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime) recently signed a
memorandum of understanding with Japan’s GUUN Co. Ltd. to explore a potential partnership to
implement waste management solutions by recycling waste paper and plastics as an alternative
source of energy called ‘fluff fuel’.
Fluff Fuels are one type of RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) which are produced from shredded and
compressed plastics, papers, and fibers. These are used as fuels in cement manufacturing, paper mill
companies, or power companies in Japan.
SM Prime Chairman of the Executive Committee Hans T. Sy is positive that a partnership with GUUN will
contribute to the waste reduction goals of the country. “Today, Japan’s waste management and
recycling technology is among the most advanced in the world,” he said. “There is no better partner for
SM because we do not just talk about being big, we make sure we do it; we do not talk about being
environment friendly but we do take bold steps to save the environment. I am looking forward to
growing with GUUN as among leaders in solving environmental issues in the Philippines.”
GUUN Co., Ltd., founded in March 2001 and headquartered in Yokohama City, Japan, piloted the
production of fluff fuel from plastic waste in Inayawan, Cebu in 2014 and recently inaugurated its P200-
million, 2,400-square meter waste recycling plant in Tayud, Consolacion, Cebu.
Since then, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment has adopted GUUN’s waste-to-fuel technology as a
model for advanced low-carbon technology innovation for further deployment in developing countries.
“This will be a milestone partnership for us,” GUNN Chief Executive Officer Shinji Fujieda said after the
signing ceremony. "I understand very much how important waste management is for SM and for the
Philippines and we look forward to more projects we can do with the properties of SM Prime.”
SM Prime’s initiatives for waste management include waste reduction and effective waste collection and
segregation. Over the years, it has implemented programs such as Trash to Cash, Plastic Waste
Collection, and E-Waste Collection that have contributed to reducing the total solid waste generation
across its real estate portfolio.
Through its pioneering Trash to Cash recycling market, SM Prime has collected and recycled 1.4M kg of
plastics, paper, metals, and others in 2022. “We have saved 16,766 trees from the 986,222 kg of paper
recycled,” SM Prime disclosed in its 2022 Integrated Report to shareholders.
Meanwhile, SM’s Plastic Waste Collection program, a partnership with the Plastic Credit Exchange that
was launched in February 2021, has accumulated 42,541kg of plastic waste from 14 mall sites. Also present in all its 83 SM Supermalls is the E-Waste Collection program for the responsible disposal of WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment). This drive has helped process close to 7,000 kilograms of e-waste.
