Undas, waste, WTE

Once again, Filipinos will flock to cemeteries to visit their departed. Aside from prayers, candles, flowers, expect cemeteries to be filled with trash during this period.

While we welcome the pro-active measures Cebu Mayor Nestor has taken to regulate and manage the UNDAS waste, this year’s UNDAS may be another appropriate time for us all to seriously consider our own responsibility/contribution to effective waste management, protective of people and planet.

Never mind if we sound like a broken record repeating again and again and again this same simple yet ignored fact that waste is generated by people.

Waste is disposed of by people. Waste comes from people’s hands. If waste comes from people’s hands, then the problem of waste can be solved by people properly reminded not to throw wastes with their hands.

Households, schools, churches, offices, businesses, industries, factories, others more generate waste but people within these locations are the ones who dispose of the waste.

Therefore, shouldn’t the solution of waste start from waste generation and target waste generation and those who throw the waste?

Don’t you wonder why the present and conventional solution to waste focus mainly on waste collection and disposal, rather than waste avoidance, waste reduction, minimization before generation?

The present push for WTE (waste to energy) by certain local government officials continues this practice of avoiding the source and cause of waste and focusing instead on waste collection and disposal.

Had local government officials, especially those tasked to protect the environment, paid close attention and commitment to Republic Act 9003, known as the “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000,” by now, waste would have already been effectively managed, from the households and throughout the whole city!

Join us review, revisit here, now!

This very important Act that mandates for the adoption of “a systematic, comprehensive and ecological solid waste management program which shall:

a) Ensure the protection of public health and environment – (this is the present battle cry of the GUBA residents opposing the WTE project);

(b) Utilize environmentally-sound methods that maximize the utilization of valuable resources and encourage resources conservation and recovery;(considers WASTE not as useless items but AS VALUABLE RESOURCES!);

(c) Set guidelines and targets for SOLID WASTE AVOIDANCE AND VOLUME REDUCTION (this is a very important INITIAL MEASURE for Waste management awaiting implementation!) through source reduction and waste minimization measures, including composting, recycling, re-use, recovery, green charcoal process, and others, before collection, treatment and disposal in appropriate and environmentally-sound solid waste management facilities in accordance with ecologically sustainable development principles;

(d) Ensure the proper segregation, collection, transport, storage, treatment and disposal of solid waste through the formulation and adoption of the best environmental practices in ecological waste management EXCLUDING INCINERATION (involved in WTE!);

(e) Promote national research and development programs for improved solid waste management and resource conservation techniques, more effective institutional arrangement and indigenous and improved methods of waste reduction, collection, separation and recovery (Has the Cebu City ever promoted these?)

(f) Encourage greater private sector participation (NOT ONLY, SOLELY of favored hauling companies)! in solid waste management;

(g) Retain primary enforcement and responsibility of solid waste management with local government units while establishing a cooperative effort (sadly, not at all encouraged/ implemented)! among the national government, other local government units, nongovernment organizations, and the private sector;

(h) Encourage cooperation and self-regulation among waste generators through the application of market-based instruments (waste solution should start from and include waste avoidance/reduction/minimization/generation management measures!);

(i) Institutionalize public participation (everyone’s involvement!) in the development and implementation of national and local integrated, comprehensive and ecological waste management programs; and

(j) Strengthen the integration of ecological solid waste management and resource conservation and recovery topics into the academic curricula of formal and nonformal EDUCATION in order to promote environmental awareness and action among the citizenry.