Goodbye plastics and welcome garbage management
Given the endless flooding and garbage problems everywhere, it is good to see that quite a number of companies and government organizations have responded to the call for sustainability in terms of changing their business model to address natural resource consumption, raw material selection, product packaging design, we certainly want more companies and organization to join the sustainability movement and help the country win the war against plastics.
At the same time, it is encouraging to see the central und local government offices are focusing on the war on plastics and the need to address the garbage management as well.
Today I would like to highlight companies and organizations that have recently taken the plastic issue seriously, and site recommendations to address the garbage issue:
•The DENR urged local government units to replace the solid waste management framework at Bayawan City in Negros Oriental. Bayawan has a pay-as-you-throw ordinance wherein sacks of residuals require designated stickers for collection, leaving unregistered trash uncollected and violators face penalties.
•President Marcos urged cities and municipalities across the country to to replicate the solid waste management system of Marikina City. During his inspection of the Marikina River Linear Park and the city’s centralized materials recovery facility (MRF) in Barangay Sto. Nino. Marikina’s MRF processes biodegradable waste into compost and converts plastic bags , bricks as well as other useful materials, including components for school desks.
•The DOE has attracted 11 bidders, including firms backed by infrastructure giants, for its special auction for waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities. Under the DOE guidelines, only projects using municipal soldi waste as fuel, without mixing it with other fuel sources may join the auction.
•The DOE is seeking bids for a new round of green power auction focused on biomass technology, offering 180 megawatts of capacity. Biomass is a renewable energy source from plants and animals that can be burned directly for heat or converted to liquid aad gaseous fuels.
•Sixty hectares of land will be restored into forest beginning in December as farmers, government environmental officials and a renewable energy company join forces to revive a watershed and strengthen bio-diversity protection in Leyte, under the Forest for Life project.
•Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investment Foundation (MFIF), is putting coastal restoration and livelihood support under one roof with Project Reshore in Alaminos City, Pangasinan. The program will help to rehabilitate a 2.19-hectare damaged portion of the Bued Mangrove Ecopark.
The future of sustainability should not be driven by regulation alone. It should be driven by activism, investor pressure, or corporate commitments also. The real catalyst may be something much simpler. Sustainability gains momentum when companies discover that doing the right thing also happens to be good for business. In contrast, if companies do not focus on sustainability, they will fall behind!
Allow me to quote some Best Practices views expressed by Brian Poe Llamanzares in his column Less waste, fewer floods, more energy which appeared in the the Philippine Star on August 23:
•Rainfall alone does not explain why streets become rivers so quickly. The other part of the equation is what happens to the thousands of tons of waste we produce every day.
•When the rain comes, the garbage moves with it. And that is where a waste problem becomes a flooding problem.
•A drainage canal does not care whether the obstruction is a plastic bag, a sachet or a discarded bottle. A pump does not distinguish between household waste and other debris. Every piece of garbage occupying space in a waterway reduces the capacity of that system to move water. Add clogged waterways and drainage systems, and an already difficult situation becomes even worse.
•This is why the conversation about flooding must include waste management from the beginning, not as an environmental footnote after flood control projects have been designed, but as a central component of flood prevention itself.
As I said at the beginning, I selected only some excellent arguments of Mr. Llamanzares’ column, which is extensive and justifies the topic Less waste, fewer floods, more energy.
As I mentioned in a previous column: make sustainability a purpose of business and society. And politics, please create and implement attractive policies that will strengthen these initiatives.
Let’s learn how to dance in the rain?
I would appreciate your reactions and further recommendations; contact me at [email protected]
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