Less than a third of Aurora’s trash ended up in landfill in 2023
BY Peter Tabingo
GOVERNMENT auditors are all praises for the provincial government of Aurora’s Solid Waste Management Program that slashed by more than two-thirds the volume of trash that would otherwise have ended in a landfill in 2023.
Out of the 24,091 kilograms of waste generated per day by seven of eight municipalities in the province, auditors said only 6,398 kilos wound up being tipped into a sanitary landfill representing just 31.72 percent.
The balance of 16,450 kilos per day or 68.29 percent was diverted and disposed of by the residents of the province.
Waste diversion classifies trash as biodegradables, recyclables or residuals with potential diversions. These are segregated into designated local Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and Residual Containment Areas (RCAs).
Aurora Province is comprised by the municipalities of Baler, Casiguran, Dilasag, Dinalungan, Dingalan, Dipaculao, Maria Aurora, and San Luis.
Based on 2022 figures from the province-wide Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (WACS), Dipaculao did not submit its solid waste management data to the Environmental Management Bureau.
Auditors noted that for the past year, Aurora had set a target of only 25 percent for waste diversion under its implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2020 (RA 9003) but it exceeded its own projections.
“The achievement was attributed to sustained best practices, ability to capitalize on technological innovations, and conduct of continuous information campaigns to promote the intents of Republic Act 9003,” the Commission on Audit said.
Recovered recyclable plastic waste was hauled to the province’s Plastic Chair Factory which was launched only in October last year, co-funded by the provincial government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources — Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) at the starting cost of P9.92 million.
The plastic recycling facility was supposed to start back in 2020 but plans were shelved after the COVID-19 outbreak.
“From its initial operation until the end of the year, it was able to shred 136.4 kilograms of plastic waste that were converted into plastic chairs,” the audit team noted.
The province’s Vermiculture program started in 2020 also helps reduce organic waste being diverted to be turned into fertilizer.
Auditors attributed public participation to the long-standing Gawad Punong Lalawigan para sa Kapaligiran (GPLK) program which offers incentives to the cleanest and greenest municipalities and barangays, as private and public schools, and provincial government offices.
For these efforts, COA noted that Aurora was recognized as the “Most Outstanding Province in Sustainability of Ecological Solid Waste Management” during the 2023 Environmental Summit in Pampanga held on June 26, 2023.
Firms told: Submit 2023 wage reports before June 15
By Gerard Naval
THE National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) is reminding all business establishments in the country to submit their ð€ð§ð§ð®ðšð¥ ð„ð¬ððšð›ð¥ð¢ð¬ð¡ð¦ðžð§ð ð‘ðžð©ð¨ð«ð ð¨ð§ ð–ðšð ðžð¬ (AERW) for 2023 on or before the June 15 deadline.
In a social media post, the NWPC said firms must be able to timely submit their AERWs via https://annualwagereport.nwpc.dole.gov.ph/aerw/.
“Join the growing number of establishments that are submitting the ð€ð§ð§ð®ðšð¥ ð„ð¬ððšð›ð¥ð¢ð¬ð¡ð¦ðžð§ð ð‘ðžð©ð¨ð«ð ð¨ð§ ð–ðšð ðžð¬,” said the NWPC.
It said the report is mandated by the Labor Code of the Philippines.
“Submission of the said report is required for all private establishments under Article 124 of the Labor Code,” said the NWPC.
It said the AERWs are also needed by the NWPC in evaluating the country’s wage situation.
“Help us to gather information for better policy and decision-making,” said NWPC.
Records showed there were 21,318 establishments that submitted their 2022 Annual Establishment Report on Wages.
