Public interest network EcoWaste Coalition is advocating a shift in the way the country addresses its problem on solid waste.
“Shift focus from end-of-pipe solutions in waste disposal to waste recovery and reduction instead,” EcoWaste national coordinator Aileen Lucero urged the government during the coalition’s online briefing on the problem on Thursday.
Lucero said the government must develop and implement a science-informed national waste recovery plan that is aligned with Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
She saw the need to develop a national policy on the production, distribution, use, and disposal of single-use plastics (SUPs) to help significantly reduce waste generation in the country.
The results of a study EcoWaste and its partners presented during the briefing highlighted the urgency of the shift.
The results showed some 87 percent of total waste generated in the study’s five sites around Metro Manila end up polluting the environment.
The SUPs – disposable plastics, such as bags and sachets – account for almost 23 percent of mismanaged waste, the results showed.
This mismanaged waste is not collected and properly disposed of due to various causes, such as problems with garbage trucks, said Marlon Pareja, professor at the De La Salle University, which partnered with EcoWaste and the University of Santo Tomas in conducting the study.
“To address mismanaged waste, LGUs (local government units) concerned need to increase waste collection by about six times,” Pareja said in the briefing.
He noted, however, that such an increase requires bigger budgets to cover the additional cost for labor, gasoline, maintenance, and landfill use.
Pareja said focusing on waste recovery while regulating the production and use of SUPs would help avoid the costly option while easing the pressure on garbage truck collection.
The study’s results, he said, indicate it could be done.
Citing 2015 data from the National Solid Waste Management Commission, he said about 80 percent of waste generated in the country could be recovered for reuse and recycling.
There’s high public awareness in the study’s sites about solid waste management and the need for environment-friendly alternatives to SUPs, he added.
The study’s sites are Barangay Dionisio in Parañaque City, Barangay 649 in Manila, Barangay 76 in Pasay City, Barangay San Agustin in Malabon City, and Barangay Tangos South in Navotas City.