Some 1,500 tons of garbage are illegally dumped daily on private land, in rivers, creeks, Manila Bay…. Over P3.54 billion are spent annually on waste collection and disposal. These are some of the findings of the Asian Development Bank in 2003.
The study made a comprehensive analysis of the garbage problem in Metro Manila that includes waste collection, dumpsites and all their relevant implications on health, costs and the environment. The study showed that there are positive opportunities for change through Republic Act No. 9003 to effectively address solid waste management.
RA 9003 is a law that can transform and improve the solid waste management system. The main elements include the national ecology center; mandatory segregation of solid waste at the barangay level; formation of waste management boards at provincial, city and municipal levels; and forming multipurpose environment cooperatives in every local government.
The study focuses on what both the government and the private sector can do to help implement the law on solid waste management.
Buzz words
Since we are all producers of waste, it is interesting to know what we, as individuals, are doing to cope with the problem. We are all aware of the current buzz words on solid waste: Everything should go back to the factory or to the earth.
Materials coming from nature can be safely returned to the environment after use, to nourish the soil and new growth. Natural ingredients can safely return to the earth. From this perspective, waste becomes food.
All other solid waste should be sent back to the factory for recycling and reuse. Designers these days are encouraged to design from the “cradle-to-cradle” perspective, with reuse in mind.
My friend, the late Odette Alcantara, an environmentalist and a staunch advocate of waste management, was very passionate about addressing waste management. She said one of the most effective ways is to separate the recyclable materials, such as paper, bottles and cans, from the daily wet garbage. Empty cans and bottles must also be lightly washed before discarding to prevent pests and rodents from rummaging the trash can.
Recyclable trash can be given to the garbage collectors for them to dispose appropriately. It is an interesting area to study how to make good use of recyclable trash because only 10 percent of the 7,000 tons of garbage generated daily is being recycled or composted.
After all the shopping we all make in our high consumption culture, it is no wonder that we generate much junk. There is really a need to reuse materials if we cannot reduce our tremendous appetite for material things.
The bigger concern for many people is dealing with wet garbage. Almost everyone just wraps the wet garbage in plastic bags and give them to the collectors who come once or twice weekly.
There is crisis when wet garbage mounts inside the house or on the street sidewalk when the garbage truck fails to come.
Wet garbage
There are several ways to deal with it. One way, if you are not squeamish, is to buy African worms, build a shallow pallet for them to crawl and feed them with all your wet garbage. You get brown, odorless natural fertilizer that can be mixed with regular soil to produce healthy plants with no chemical fertilizers.
Another way is by mixing wet garbage with sawdust and soil. The sawdust absorbs the moisture which prevents bad odor. The garbage has to be placed in a container with weep holes at the base to drain the leachate. Result? You produce dry, odorless powdery substance that can also be used as fertilizer.
One of the most effective methods is to simply bury the wet garbage in the soil. The approximate depth should be at least 12 inches to keep away animals. It will take several weeks before the garbage disappears and be part of the soil. When wet garbage is buried, there is no odor and pests will not bother it.
Composting guarantees your home free from flies invading your dining table. You are also freed from the dreaded insect, the cockroach.
How serious are we in helping prevent many sicknesses caused by poor solid waste management?
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