NEARLY a quarter century since the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act became a law, the Philippines ranks third among the world’s worst ocean plastic polluters and tops in riverine plastic emissions, according to a 2024 study published in a scientific journal. This despite huge amounts spent by government on solid waste management and flood control.
Current waste collection practices are limited to collecting unsegregated refuse and dumping it in landfills which are unhealthy because trash piles contaminate the air, soil, and water.
People not reached by garbage collectors, like those living along esteros, simply toss their trash in the waterways, which will clog the flow and cause floods.
The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, or Republic Act No. 9003, mandates the adaption of a program which shall, among others, “ensure the proper segregation, collection, transport, storage, treatment and disposal of solid waste through the formulation and adoption of the best environmental practice in ecological waste management.” In other words, zero waste and with emphasis on the word “proper.”
‘Indeed, an ounce of preventive segregation is more than a pound of clean-up efforts.’
We call on local governments to follow the law.
They can persuade residents to segregate and clean their trash, and sell these to “resource recovery” haulers.
Resource recovery is the concept of extracting valuables from waste instead of simply throwing them away, and these are continuously reused, recycled, or repurposed.
On fears that resource recovery haulers will render garbage collectors out of work, garbage contractors can be re-oriented to accept only segregated, dry, and clean trash, and take them to those companies that will know what to do with them. There are such companies locally.
We recognize that segregation, cleaning, and drying take time and incur costs for soap and water, and this leads to the false notion that segregation is not pro-poor. But local government units (LGUs) and entrepreneurs can incentivize households by paying them for segregated, clean and dry trash, per volume, or through other incentives like rice, coffee, or canned goods. Then maybe people will think twice before throwing PET bottles, refrigerators, or toilet bowls into the creeks.
To some extent, this is already being done successfully in a farming and fishing area in Negros Oriental with a population of about 122,000, a third of whom fall within the region of poverty incidence. Yet, Bayawan claims to be the country’s cleanest city, through a fairly simple strategy: at-source segregation, composting, and recycling.
Segregated, clean, and dry trash is not worthless litter but something of economic value.
The 2025 General Appropriations Act has allocated almost P2 billion to the Metro Manila Development Authority for solid waste management and P2.2 billion for flood control because garbage clogging waterways is a frequent cause of flooding.
At the LGU level, Manila last year awarded two contracts worth P842.7 million for garbage collection and disposal, while Parañaque in 2023 set aside P380 million for the same purpose.
Zero waste means a reduced if not eliminated need for funds for multi-million-peso garbage collection costs. The savings can be channeled to improving recycling technology.
Indeed, an ounce of preventive segregation is more than a pound of clean-up efforts.
