A typical day for Gerlie involves collecting plastic waste, such as PET bottles and plastic utensils, in the morning after sending her children off to Baseco National High School. She stores these plastic materials at home and cleans them once she has accumulated enough to fill a sack before selling them to the local junk shop. During the southwest monsoon season, when the bay is more likely to be littered with trash, Gerlie also fishes out debris from the nearby dock.

When there is less waste to collect, Gerlie works multiple jobs to make ends meet. Despite the challenges she faces, Gerlie remains determined to support her family through hard work and resourcefulness. Her goal in the next five years is to save up and build her very own junk shop to increase her capacity to generate wealth and help the waste workers in her vicinity as well.

Fortunately, Gerlie has found a new source of support in Tanael, a junk shop that partners with Plastic Bank. By bringing her waste to Tanael, she now earns almost double what she used to receive from selling to a different junk shop. Gerlie is eligible for other incentives from Plastic Bank, including rice rations, health assistance (in the form of vitamins), safety equipment (such as gloves and boots), and educational assistance for her children (in the form of a tablet for online learning), in addition to the financial benefit.