FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 2008

Alarming Waste Problem in the Philippines The Philippines is looming with garbage problems despite the passage of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act or the Republic Act (RA) 9003. 2007 first quarter data from the National Solid Waste Management Commission shows that there are 677 open dumpsites, 343 controlled dumps, and 21 landfills in the country. An additional 307 dump sites are subject for closure or rehabilitation plans but without definite schedules for enforcement. About 215 additional landfills are being proposed to be set up nationwide. About 1,000 open and controlled dump sites exist in the country. Prominent dumps all over the country can be found in Antipolo and Montalban in Rizal; Baguio City; Calapan, Mindoro Oriental; Carmen, Cagayan de Oro; Mandurriao, Iloilo City; Obando, Bulacan; and San Pedro, Laguna. Environmentalists stress that Republic Act 9003 calls for the adoption of the best environmental practices in ecological waste management and explicitly excludes waste incineration as an ecological option. These polluting disposal facilities are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere which adds to global warming. Landfills and open dumps, according to studies, account for 34 percent of human-related methane emissions to the atmosphere, a global warming gas that has 23 times more heat-trapping power than carbon dioxide. These landfills and open dumps are illegal under RA 9003. Incinerators, on the other hand, have significantly higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions (per kilowatt) than a coal-fired power plant when all of the carbon coming out of an incinerator stack is measured. Such emissions are banned by the countrys Clean Air Act. Inaction on garbage contributes to the death of at least two persons every minute due to complications from environmental problems, which could be prevented if the country only developed a more efficient environmental management program. Mismanagement of waste has serious environmental consequences: ground and surface water contamination, local flooding, air pollution, exposure to toxins, and spread of disease. Many of the disposal sites contain infectious material, thus threatening sanitation workers and waste-pickers.

Annual waste generation in the Philippines is expected to grow 40 percent by 2010. Improvements in recycling, collection, and disposal will become even more critical as garbage production continues to increase with population growth and economic development. Past efforts to promote waste segregation at source have minimal impact despite the presence of Republic Act 9003. Most of these were barangay, city, and municipal ordinances providing for sanctions and penalties for noncompliance. Campaigns, seminars, trainings and other different community activities were implemented with the help of various private groups or NGOs to pursue the objective of solving the garbage problem. RA 9003 further calls for the establishment of materials recovery facilities, or ecology centers, in every barangay or cluster of a barangay. To date, only 1,923 ecology centers exist, serving 2,133 barangays of a total 41,975 nationwide. In Quezon City alone, only 52 barangays have established Materials Recovery Facilities out of a total of 142.

Peoples Behavior Toward Waste Behaviour is a key cultural aspect that is embedded in peoples way of life. Studying a communitys behavior and introducing new ones requires intensive, long-term, and creative social marketing. This can be done by studying the demographic and cultural fiber of the community through immersions and capacity building activities.

The Resources, Environment and Economics Center for Studies, Inc.s (REECS) 2002 study on household waste management systems and the attitudes and behavior of the communities in two barangays in Metro Manila ( Bennagen, Nepomuceno, Covar, 2002) showed that:

1. Waste management is still perceived by many as the responsibility of government. 2. Public participation in waste management, especially in segregation at source, remains limited. 3. More extensive awareness- raising activities and training on ecological waste management are needed, together with stricter enforcement of the Law and local ordinances must be observed. 4. There is lack of community empowerment and political will to resolve the

problem.

Recognizing the importance of the environments immediate recovery and effects of improper waste management to the Philippines, there is a need for understanding and reformation of attitudes and concern towards the protection of environment. The impending garbage crisis can be prevented if we only practice waste segregation at source, recycling, and composting as what the law requires. An intensive social marketing program has to be established on a long-term scale within a barangay the smallest unit of the local government.

POSTED BY IMAGINE ECHO PROJECTS AT 11:32 AM

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Metro Manila produces a fourth of Philippine garbage By Kristine L. Alave Philippine Daily Inquirer 1:57 am | Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 6share69 56

BOUNTY OF THE BAY. Scavengers scour the heap of garbage washed ashore the Manila Bay in Roxas Boulevard Manila. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO The excesses of Imperial Manila seem to stink to high heavens. Residents of Metro Manila generate so much garbage that they are responsible for one-fourth of the countrys daily output of solid waste, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). A single resident produces an average of 0.7 kilogram of waste a day, about 130 percent higher than the global average of 0.3 kg per person per day, said Emy Aguinaldo, executive director of the National Solid Waste

Management Commission, an attached agency of the DENR. Citing records from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the DENR said Metro Manila produced about 8,400 to 8,600 tons of trash per day. That volume already accounts for about 25 percent of the countrys daily solid waste generation of some 35,000 tons, the DENR noted. About half of the garbage from Metro Manila is biodegradable waste such as food scraps, leftovers, and animal carcasses. About 17 percent are paper while 16 percent are plastics. The rest are discarded metal, ceramics, rubber, and leather. Small but terrible With a population of around 11.5 million, Metro Manila accounts for 13 percent of the nationwide total. Its 636-square meter urban sprawl covers a mere 0.21 percent of the countrys total land area. Of the 16 cities and one municipality making up Metro Manila, only nine cities have a solid waste management plan, Aguinaldo told the Inquirer yesterday. About a third of the biodegradable waste from these nine cities is recycled into compost, she said. Metro Manila residents, however, rarely engage in recycling because of limited space, Aguinaldo noted. Environment Secretary Ramon Jesus Paje on Monday said he had ordered 4,717 homeowners associations in condominiums and subdivisions in Metro Manila to segregate their garbage to help speed up collection and sorting. The DENR has forged partnerships with 11 local government units to enforce the order, he said. Better organized Subdivisions and condominiums are very critical in our advocacy because residents here are already organized and governed by their respective homeowners associations. Getting them to practice waste segregation and composting will hopefully not be as difficult as they will feel the immediate benefits in terms of cleaner and greener surroundings, Paje said. This way, we will not only be reducing the volume of wastes thrown in landfills but also those that are indiscriminately dumped in esteros and other waterways, he added. He said Metro Manila residents had become such prolific litterbugs that the

supposedly local problem of household garbage had become a national concern. Uncollected trash that clog waterways and drainage systems is one of the major causes of floods and disease outbreaks whose effects could be felt beyond the capital, Paje stressed. From flooding to dengue, from polluted rivers and creeks to mountains of trash, from the unnecessary death of fishes that accidentally swallowed plastic bags in the seas to global warming, garbage is the common denominator, the environment secretary said in a statement. With report from Inquirer Research Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/42317/metro-manila-produces-a-fourth-ofphilippine-garbage