The "Ayala" Entrepreneurs of Cebu, Philippines

The name Ayala is synonymous with high end malls, condominiums, banks, insurance  and other investment companies. In Cebu, when one hears the word Ayala, it is immediately associated with the mall, the spacious and green Terraces area, the new PUV Terminal.

To people in the recycling circle, Ayala means the local scrap district in Cebu. Yes, right by the  corner of M.J. Cuenco  Road   and  Mactan Street of the Ayala Business District entrance is the business office of the "Ayala" entrepreneurs who are engaged in the recycling business. Their business portfolio include the buying of cardboard, paper, plastic, glass and metal from discarded appliances, cars and anything that contains metal, aluminum, stainless steel or plastic.  The Ayala scrap buyers bodega start right after the corner of the Carretta cemetery and go all the way to the bridge just before stepping into the real Ayala world of Lexmark, Citibank and Marriot, etc.

Out of the box thinking?

Gold mine

An Ayala entrepreneur

Bodega all filled up and ready for pick-up

Door to door service

Getting ready to go back to China

Another Ayala Entrepreneur

Everyday this street is bustling with people dismantling appliances, machines, cars, etc, anything that has recyclable metal and plastic. The scrap comes from different parts of the city.

How does the scrap world operate? In every town there is a  local retail  scrap buyer. They keep their scrap  in a bodega until it is worth one truck load and gets brought to the city to the wholesale scrap buyer who then stores it in a huge bodega and waits for the boat pick-up from China. The Chinese then recycle these materials into toys, cars, appliance etc.

So, if you have any plastic or metal recyclables drop by the Ayala access road and you can get cash from trash. If you have loads of them, you can approach any of the scrap buyers for a pick-up from your house or office. The downside of these buyers is that they do not know how to handle hazardous materials like the freon from the airconditioners, and other toxic materials from computer monitors, batteries, tv sets and other appliances.