Environmentalists urge DepEd to teach 'Zero Waste' to students

MANILA, Philippines - Environmentalists called yesterday on the Department of Education (DepEd) to require the teaching of “Zero Waste” to students.

Eileen Sison, representative to the National Solid Waste Management Commission, said a department adminis-trative order is needed for the proposal to take effect.

“Through a department order or any equivalent instrument, DepEd can formalize an agency-wide directive that will ensure systematic awareness-raising on Zero Waste and its practical enforcement within the school system,” he said.

“The DepEd policy should incorporate Zero Waste in the curriculum, classroom and extra-curricular activities, establish an Ecological Solid Waste Management Program, evaluate and track progress towards the Zero Waste goal at the school level.”

Roy Alvarez, EcoWaste Coalition president, said schools provide the best training ground for instilling ecological awareness, res-ponsibility and action among children.

“If DepEd will be able to pass on the Zero Waste value to the country’s over 23 million students, we’ll have a formidable army of earth-loving Filipinos who will shun wastefulness, including the irksome habit of mixing, littering and burning trash,” he said.

Alvarez said if trained early enough, children can manage discards in a way that will not degrade and damage the environment.

“We can have better chances of implementing Republic Act 9003,” he said.

“It should also push for school policies and programs that will avoid and reduce the generation of wastes and toxics and prevent climate change.”

Alvarez said the program should also provide for the implementation of best practices in ecological solid waste management, including materials substitution, reuse, repair, recycling and com-posting.

“It should also support safe and sustainable liveli-hood and enterprise for school and community recyclers,” he said.

RA 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2001, among other features, requires comprehensive waste segregation at source, waste avoidance, waste volume reduction and the ecological management of discards such as reuse, recycling and composting activities, ex-cluding waste incineration.

According to the “Guide to Zero Waste Schools” published by the EcoWaste Coalition and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, a school-based Zero Waste program should aspire to promote and inculcate eco-logical awareness, action and commitment among stake-holders.