No segregation, no collection, no election

Where I am at present, in the beautiful coastal town of Carigara in Leyte, the municipal government has embarked on a "no segregation, no collection" garbage disposal initiative pursuant to a 20-year-old law called the "Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000" or Republic Act 9003. The law went into effect January 26, 2001 upon signing by then president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

According to a study called "Plastic Waste Inputs From Land Into The Oceans" published in the journal Science and cited by the EcoWaste Coalition, the Philippines ranks third behind China and Indonesia as the world's top polluter, generating a scary and disturbing 2.7 million metric tons of plastic waste alone each year.

It is therefore foolish, immoral, even criminal, for anyone to oppose any initiative meant to avert the seemingly inexorable drowning and suffocation of the world under tons of mostly-plastic rubbish. Late as it is, and puny though it may be in face of such a gargantuan challenge, it is infinitely better than just kicking the can down the road as a problem for future generations to solve.

Segregation is not only good but necessary because it helps in defining trash and directing the flow of its disposal --where the hazardous and toxic should go for safe elimination, where the reusable and recyclable can be recovered and put to good use again, and where the residuals (non-hazardous, non-usable, non-recyclable and commercially valueless) can be manageably disposed. No collection is the punitive side of the equation.

But as good as the initiative is, it is far from perfect. It is, for one, being haphazardly implemented and without regard for the consequences. Kitchen waste, for example, is being deemed a responsibility of households and no longer being collected by the municipal LGU, apparently ignoring the fact that many, if not most, households do not have spaces to convert into compost pits. Even the barangays do not have such ready capability.

So while segregation is easy to comply with for those civic-minded enough to comply with what is good for the community and larger society, there is a real problem with kitchen waste that is unpardonable if left to households alone to solve or deal with. There is a reason why citizens pay taxes and elect officials --so that government extends public services to them and officials can think of better ways for such services to be done.

It is unconscionable and criminally negligent for government and its officials to just cavalierly dismiss real concerns such as kitchen waste as the responsibility of households to deal with. It is just like saying "bahala na kayo sa buhay ninyo." That is not the way governments deal with their public. Those who think kitchen waste is too trivial as to leave to citizens the responsibility of disposal are making a very big mistake.

Right now there is a growing stench from uncollected garbage in the streets, mostly festering kitchen waste that has nowhere to go and nothing to do but attract germs and become a health hazard much bigger than the original problem sought to be solved. Then there is the practical reality of a people made angry at government at a crucial time such as a year before elections. To "no segregation, no collection" might be added "no election."