GOVERNMENT auditors have urged the provincial government of Bulacan to take steps to address the issue of solid waste management, particularly the reduction of volume of trash through segregation.
In its 2021 report on the province released last May 26, the Commission on Audit noted that Bulacan failed to implement any of the high-impact programs, projects, and activities (PPAs) listed in its 10-Year Provincial Solid Waste Management Plan (PSWMP) 2021-2030.
The PSWMP was submitted to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources — Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) Region 3 on August 19, 2021.
Among the pressing matters cited in the 10-year plan were the need to enforce rules governing disposal of solid waste, conversion of recyclables into usable products, compliance with segregation at the household and non-household sources and establishing a central materials recovery facility (CMRF) in addition to 569 material recovery facilities in the various barangays.
While public offices complied with the guidelines of disposing trash according to material type to separate those that are degradable from the ones that would take longer to decompose, their good intentions went to naught.
“The practice of segregation of wastes in various offices of the province became futile as the collected garbage were hauled together at the transfer site,” the COA noted.
With the head of the Bulacan Environment and Natural Resources Office (BENRO) having been appointed only recently, the plan for a functional CMRF has not moved past the drawing board.
“As of now, the motorpool in Tabang, Malolos still serves as a temporary transfer site for hauled regular wastes,” the audit team said.
It reminded the provincial government that under RA 9003, it is required to ensure that the solid waste management program must ensure the protection of public health and the environment.
The breakdown of expenses of the province showed its payment for Environmental/Sanitary Services increased from P16.58 million in 2020 to P18.38 million in 2021.
