G. P.

Sapuay / Proceedings of the International Conference in Urban and Regional Planning (2018)

Sustainable Solid Waste Management and Sustainable

Development in the Philippines

Grace P. Sapuay
Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines, 7A South J. St., Bgy. Sacred Heart, Quezon City 1103 Philippines
gpsapuay@gmail.com

_______________________________________________________________________

Abstract

Urbanization has created tremendous challenges to cities and metropolitan areas. It has put pressure on the cities’ environment
and on natural resources. Among these challenges is solid waste management, an issue that has beset every city and every country
in the world, especially among the developing world and emerging economies. Improper solid waste management or
inappropriate disposal of solid waste has posed a threat to the integrity of our surroundings as well as to the health of the people.
Recently, the issue of improper solid waste management has been blamed for floods in Philippine cities due to clogging of
drainage. Improper disposal of solid waste has also caused the pollution of surface water resources as well as pollution of the seas
and oceans, which has affected not only our food resources but also the wildlife, especially the birds, the fish and the mammals
in the oceans. Among the culprits is the plastic waste, which is slow to decompose. In the oceans, they are mistaken for food by
birds and other organisms, creating negative impacts on these creatures. The increase in population coupled with unsustainable
solid waste management practices threatens the health of the people, the wildlife, and the food security of our nation.

This paper deals with the issues and concerns on solid waste management and the effects of improper solid waste management
on the sustainability of cities, especially those in the Philippines. It aims to show the challenges faced by these cities in managing
their solid waste, the role of the informal sector in solid waste management, and the strategies that Philippine cities can adopt to
properly manage solid waste and ensure sustainability. It also aims to show the current situation of Philippine cities and the
technologies available for proper treatment and disposal of solid waste.

Key words: solid waste, solid waste management, informal waste sector, sustainable development
__________________________________________________________________

1. Introduction
Among the greatest challenges facing our world
today is the rapid urbanization of cities, which are the
new hotspots of global environmental change, the
leading growth centers of population, consumption,
resource use and waste (WWF, 2012). In the history of
cities’ urbanization processes, this is often
accompanied by social transformation and economic
growth (UN, 2014). Also, with rapid urbanization
comes lifestyle changes of population, with a high
demand for products that always generate solid waste.
Solid waste is a function of population growth.
Increasing population means increasing solid waste
generation. With the current trend of population
growth, solid waste generation and management has
been quite a challenge being faced by local
government authorities. According to the UN’s data
booklet on The World Cities in 2016: In 2016, as
estimated 54.5% of the world’s population live in
urban settlements. By 2030 urban areas are
projected to house 60% of people globally and one in
every three people will live in cities with at least half
a million inhabitants. This population, when
translated to the amount of waste generation,
represents a tremendous volume of solid waste. For
example, in 2012, 1.3 billion tons of MSW was
generated in the world cities (Hoornweg and Bada-
Tata, 2012). The projected annual waste volume for
the world cities is projected to be 2.2 billion tons by
2025. A World Bank study has projected a global
solid waste increase of 70% in urban solid waste,
with the developing countries facing the greatest
challenges (Asnap/WB 2012). The World Bank
projected that the annual cost of solid waste
management will rise from US$205 billion in 2012 to
US$375 billion by 2025 (Ng, 2012).
In the Philippines, the annual waste generation is
expected to increase from 13.48 million tons in 2010
to 16.63 million tons by 2020 (NSWMC 2015). Metro
Manila contributed about 22.2% in 2010 and its
contribution is reported to be increasing and is
projected to contribute about 26.7% to the country’s
solid waste generation by 2020 (NSWMC, 2015).

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Clearly, this increasing amount of solid waste
generation is alarming and must be prevented. This
solid waste footprint, which is getting bigger is bound
to bring negative environmental consequences to our
cities. Sustainable Development Goal #12 enjoins all
countries to have a responsible consumption and
production of goods to reduce our consumption and
wasteful lifestyles. To achieve this goal, we must
reduce our waste generation to prevent overuse of
resources and degradation of our environment due to
contamination and pollution brought about by
decomposing waste thrown into unsanitary disposal
facilities that harm our surroundings. By doing this,
we can also prevent harmful diseases from spreading
around to protect the health of the people.
Encouraging industries, businesses, and consumers
to recycle and reduce waste is equally important as
is supporting developing countries to move towards
more sustainable consumption pattern by 2030
(UNDP, Philippines, website, current).
2. Review of Literature
When we speak of sustainability of cities, we also
speak of sustainable solid waste management in the
context of Agenda 2030, SDG #12. Studies have been
conducted on sustainable solid waste management in
many parts of the world. For example, in a study
conducted on the Sustainable Solid Waste
Management in the City of Mecheria (western
Algeria), Abderrahmane, Y et al (2014), found that
waste management in that city is not done with the
health and environment protection in mind, even
though there is a whole law dedicated to waste
management, control and disposal.
In a study by Kerdsuwan, S. et al (2015) on the
sustainable development and eco-friendly disposal
technology for the local community, non-sanitary and
uncontrolled landfilling is used as the means of
garbage disposal in developing and low-income
countries, leading to negative effects on environment
and human health. As such, a study on the economic
analysis of an eco-friendly technology, which is an
alternative to landfilling, using incineration,
gasification and RDF technology could help put to
appropriate use some of the components of the
municipal solid waste stream. They suggested that
since solid waste management is the responsibility of
the government, it should invest in this eco-friendlier
technology. Further, in a study by Joshua O (2013) on
solid waste management for sustainable development
and public health mentions waste pickers as an
abundance of manpower that can be used for waste
separation and thus, providing employment for the
youth in Lagos, Nigeria and that various waste
materials can be made available as material sources
for other industries.
Mesjasz-Lech A. (2014) mentions municipal solid
waste management as an element of sustainable
development in cities. This is because, according to
this author, cities are the motors of economic
activities, but the functioning of every city generates
waste.
The stench of decomposing biodegradable waste is
usually the cause of complaints for those living close
to garbage disposal sites and of course, very harmful
to people’s health and well-being. A paper by Curry
and Pilay (2012) discussed biodegradation of waste
through aerobic digestion to produce methane-rich
biogas, offering one way of converting organic waste
into energy, providing solution to issues on organic
waste.
3. Objectives
The objectives of this paper are to present sustainable
solid waste management in relation to sustainability
of cities, highlighting some sustainable practices in
the Philippines and to provide an understanding of
the reasons why sustainable solid waste management
contributes to the sustainable development of cities.
4. Approach and Methodology
Materials used for this paper are based on data for this
paper was gathered using secondary sources of
information from available online research papers as
well as from colleagues who gave permission to use
their data and photographs for the purposes of this
paper.
5. Solid waste management in the
Philippines: an overview
The Philippines has a population of 100.98 million
people as of 2015 Census (PSA, 2017), who produce
more than 40,000 tons of garbage daily or about 14.6
million tons annually (Manning, 2017), about 1-30%
of which, is not properly collected and is often
dumped indiscriminately, contributing to flooding in
the urban areas and increases in pests and diseases
(IGES 2016). A World Bank study indicated that
urban population would increase from 58.65 million
in 2012 to 86.41 million in 2025 and that urban
residents in the Philippines would increase their
municipal solid waste generation from the current 0.5
kg/day to 0.9 kg/day in 2025 (Ng, 2012).
There are 599 cities in the Philippines spread across
7,641 islands (PSA 2017). These Philippine cities have
been struggling with various environmental issues,
particularly solid waste management (SDG 11 & 12).
Republic Act 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste
Management Act 2000) mandates all local
government units (LGUs) to form their Local Solid
Waste Management Boards, formulate their Ten-Year
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Solid Waste Management Plans, establish their
respective Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs), and
establish their final disposal facilities or engineered
sanitary landfills (ESLFs) to fully tackle the
burgeoning solid waste situation and its
accompanying negative environmental effects. The
ecological solid waste management (ESWM) policy is
based on the management of waste in the following
hierarchy: a) Source reduction (avoidance) and
minimization of waste generated at source b) Reuse,
recycling and resource recovery of wastes at the
barangay level c) Efficient collection, proper transfer,
and transport of wastes by city/municipality d)
Efficient management of residuals and of final
disposal sites and/or any other related technologies
for the destruction/reuse of residuals (Philippine
Congress, 2000).
Coastal cities are particularly highlighted by the
solid waste problems as solid waste become visible in
their beaches and coastal waters (SDG 14). The
inability to fully comply with the mandates of the
national law on ecological solid waste management
stems from insufficient budget and expertise,
resulting in fragmented implementation of solid
waste management. Another is the lack or insufficient
space for treatment and disposal of garbage, as most
of the land are titled to private entities. These disposal
issues pose negative consequences on the
environment since improper disposal and improper
management of disposal facilities lead to
contamination of the land, air and water, in turn
creating negative impacts on the health of the citizens
(SDG 3, 6 & 15).
5.1. Metro Manila’s solid waste management
Metro Manila, also known as the National Capital
Region (NCR) is composed of sixteen (16) cities and
one (1) municipality, where five (5) of the country’s
most populated cities are located. Metro Manila
accounts for the greatest share of the country’s
economy with 36.6% of the Philippines’ GDP. It also
has the largest contribution to the country’s 6.9%
economic growth rate, which is 2.7% (Philippine
Statistics Authority, 2017).
The NCR functions both as a province and a region
headed by the Metro Manila Development Authority
(MMDA). It is governed by a Metro Manila Council
composed of Metro Manila’s city mayors, Metro
Manila Congressmen, the Vice-President of the
Philippines, the Secretary of the Department of
Transportation, the Secretary of the Department of
Public Works and Highways, the Secretary of the
Department of Tourism, the Secretary of the
Department of Budget and Management, as well as
the Director General of the Philippine National Police
(MMDA, 2017).
The Chairman of MMDA heads the Metro Manila
SWM Board, which is composed of sixteen (16)
mayors of the component cities and one (1)
municipality, an NGO, a representative from the
recycling industry, and a representative of the
manufacturing industry. Its mandate includes the
formulation and implementation of policies,
standards, programs and projects for proper
sanitation waste disposal. It also involves the
establishment and operation of sanitary landfill and
related facilities and the implementation of other
alternative programs intended to reduce, reuse and
recycle solid waste for Metro Manila.
Solid waste management of Metro Manila cities is
tasked through the local government units (LGUs).
The role of the Metro Manila Development Authority
(MMDA) is to provide for the disposal facilities and
tipping fees of theses LGUs. All MM LGUs contract
out the collection and hauling of their respective city’s
solid waste to private solid waste contractors. The
insufficient information communication campaign
(IEC) and thorough enforcement of national law and
local ordinances is among the causes of the problems
and issues concerning solid waste.
The in-migration increases the growth in
population of this megacity. As such, garbage
generation and management are a huge problem. For
example, currently, Metro Manila’s daily solid waste
generation has been recorded at 9,000 metric tons.
Portions of these end up on the streets, storm drains,
and in Metro Manila’s surface waters and waterways.
In 2013, the Philippines have reported an annual solid
waste generation of 14.36 million metric tons, with
Metro Manila contributing about 24% of this total
waste generation. Figure 1 below shows percentage
composition of Philippines solid waste from various
sources (NSWMC, 2016).
Figure 1 Percentage composition of Philippine solid waste
from various sources in 2013.
5.1.1 Manila Bay: Catch Basin of Garbage
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Manila Bay is surrounded by cities of Metro Manila as
well as cities from adjoining provinces of Cavite and
Bataan on the south and Bulacan, Pampanga and
Bataan on the North.
The latest coastal clean-up drive carried out by the
International Coastal Clean Up in September 2017,
where hundreds of volunteers participated, resulted
in the recovery of several truckloads of garbage, which
are mostly made up of inorganic waste such as plastic
packaging waste and Styrofoam, some electronic
waste, clothes, shoes, etc., as well as some materials
from fish pens and traditional low-cost houses.
The grim reality that Manila Bay, the source of fish
that we put on our table, has become a catch basin of
garbage does not bid well for all of us. Contamination
of water affects our food sources. Under SDG 3, we are
supposed to be provided with good health and well-
being. And under SDG 14 (life under water) means
that if we are to depend on fishery resources for our
health and well-being, then Manila Bay can no longer
be a source of our sustenance. Sustainability of cities
depends on the health and well-being of its citizens as
well as the health of their water resources. Living
around areas where water is contaminated and where
sources of food are contaminated do not make for
healthy citizenry.
5.2 Rate of Compliance to RA 9003
Sixteen (16) years after the law was signed,
compliance is slowly picking up among LGUs in terms
of having their respective solid waste management
plans, according to the 3rd quarter 2017 report of the
National Solid Waste Management Commission
(NSWMC). Of the total 1,634 LGUs 89% or about
1,516 LGUs were able to submit their SWM Plans. Of
these, only 318 have been approved to date. Also, of
the 81 provinces, only 68% have managed to submit
and only 8 provincial SWM plans have been approved
so far. In the National Capital Region, sixteen (16) of
the seventeen (17) LGUs have approved SWM Plans.
The challenge is how to implement these plans in the
metropolis, with varying population during the day
and night.
In terms of establishment of Materials Recovery
Facilities (MRFs), which is the mandate of all
barangays in the Philippines, the NSWMC has
reported that as of the 3rd quarter of 2017, there is only
a total of 10,052 barangays with MRFs servicing 13,
324 barangays, out of the total 42,036 barangays in
the country or barely 24% have a serviceable MRF in
their respective barangays. This poor compliance
results in unsustainable SWM practices, resulting in
environmental degradation and waste of resources.
5.3 The Role of Informal Waste Sector
(IWS)
Urban living has created a new type of livelihood:
waste picking. This livelihood is done by people who
belong to the informal waste sector, more popularly
known as the IWS. They are classified in the lowest
rung of the social ladder (Sapuay 2015). They exist in
all cities of the world, making a living out of other
people’s trash. They glean the waste disposed by
people on the streets, from trash bins and in the
disposal sites, which are mostly open dumpsites. They
have little or no education at all, although in the
Philippines, some are reported to have finished high
school or college degrees, having finished their studies
through waste picking and continue to do so.
The importance of the IWS lies in the fact that they
are the base of the recycling chain and the
governments benefit from their services of recovering
recyclable waste materials at no cost to them. Figure 2
below shows the IWS segregating waste from a
Transfer Station. They endure the heat, stench,
working entire day in deplorable conditions in all
kinds of weather just to earn their daily living. Under
SDG 3, this type of livelihood is unsustainable in
terms of their health and well-being, exposed to a
toxic environment everyday just to earn some money
for their daily subsistence. However important in the
recycling chain, waste picking is not the livelihood
that could uplift the poor because of the gruesome
conditions they are in every time they go to pick waste
from the piles of trash. For example, when Payatas
landfill was still in operation there were hundreds of-
informal waste workers working in that landfill,
picking waste to glean recyclables from the mixed
waste, from whence their livelihood come from. They
eke out their living recovering materials that have
been discarded by Quezon City residents. Their
importance lies in the fact that they are contributory
to diversion and recovery of waste materials away
from the disposal facility and helping to conserve
precious resources.
Figure 2. IWS picking waste from a Transfer Station.
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Table 1 shows the recycling rates in developed

Figure 3. Waste analysis and characterization study
conducted for selected LGUs in Metro Manila (NSWMC
2016)
Figure 3 above shows the result of a waste analysis and
characterization study, which indicates a huge
amount of recyclable waste such as paper, metals and
plastics. The proliferation of waste picking as a
livelihood stems from the fact that people dispose
unsegregated waste, which contains a huge amount of
recyclable materials. These materials are bought by
recycling industries from scrap and junk dealers, who
in turn buy the recyclable materials from the IWS,
making waste picking a profitable livelihood.
Such resources, which can be reprocessed to serve
as materials for other manufacturing industries and
saves more virgin materials from being used, thus,
saving such materials for the next generation. Such
huge savings can help maintain a sustainable pathway
for cities and prevent over-extraction of valuable
resources. This brings us to SDG goal 12 – ensuring
responsible consumption and production patterns by
reducing the amount of waste we generate as well as
using eco-friendly production methods as among the
targets of Agenda 2030.
Based on Figure 3, under SDG 12 –responsible
consumption and production, it only means that the
people have lifestyles that are unsustainable because
of irresponsible consumption and that the “throw-
away” attitude is quickly using up resources that are
meant for the next generation. This brings us to the
issue of recycling.
countries around the world. Most developing
countries do not have formal recycling systems in
place but have a strong IWS.
There are technologies that have been invented to
help cities dispose of solid waste safely, at the same
time recovering precious resources imbedded in
discarded materials. These materials are incorporated
into products that, at the end of their life span are
discarded. The availability of such technologies,
recently innovated to reduce or prevent harm have
been in use in developed countries in Europe, the US
and Asia. Recycling also diverts some discarded waste
from the municipal solid waste stream that end up
disposed in unsanitary landfills.
Examples of technologies that recycles materials for
fuel such as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), Waste to
Energy facilities (gasification, incineration, bio-
digesters, etc) are getting world-wide acceptance.
Such technologies are also being made available for
emerging economies like the Philippines. Cement
manufacturing industries such as Holcim, La Farge,
and Cemex, have been using RDF to reduce coal use
in their cement kilns. The figures below show two (2)
facilities that create RDF from waste.
Figure 4. RDF Plant in Pasig City under the Ecoedge
Resources Corporation (a consortium between IPM and La
Farge)

6 Recycling

Recycling is important to help reduce the

consumption of virgin materials used in
manufacturing as well as reduce energy consumption.
By diverting the waste produced, reusing them for
production of new materials helps save space for
landfills as well as extend the life span of landfills.
Composting organic waste is a form of recycling, by
converting the organic waste back into soil helps
reduce emission of the greenhouse gas methane from
landfills. Figure 5. Guun Co. Ltd, formerly Mansei Recycle Systems
Developed countries have established successful Co. Ltd.) is a Japanese owned plastic recycling plant that
recycling programs such as Europe and the USA. produces RDF for Apo Cement.

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Figure 4 shows the RDF in Pasig, which caters to La The lack of a formal recycling systems give rise to an
Farge, while Figure 5 shows an RDF facility, located in informal one. Waste pickers are the base of the
the province of Cebu, which caters to Apo Cement recycling chain, providing a livelihood for the jobless
Plant, a subsidiary of Cemex Corporation. Another people, who, because of their incapacity to handle
technology, a waste to energy plant located in Mactan formal jobs, resort to picking waste. As a positive
Island is the Enecon (Amrei), which is soon to open. consequence, a huge volume of discarded materials
Such technologies are part of the recycling process to that are usable and recyclable are taken out of the
make effective use of discarded materials and recover disposal facilities and fed to the recycling system, at
the energy by the thermal oxidation process system no cost to the local government units. They contribute
(TOPS). to a huge savings of virgin materials, thus become
contributory to sustainable development.
Table 1. Recycling rates in developed countries around the
world.
7. Compliance to RA 9003 to promote
Country Recycling rate (%) Sustainable Development: Some examples
Austria 63 of best practices among Philippine cities
Australia 30
Despite the difficulty in implementing RA 9003
Belgium 58
due to lack of budget for solid waste management,
Canada 27
some cities have tried very hard to manage their waste
France 35
to improve sustainability. Among these are the
Germany 62
following cities:
Italy 36 1) Legazpi City (Albay) in Bicol Region,
Japan 21 southern Luzon has been implementing the ecological
Singapore 59 approaches and has improved the city’s solid waste
South Korea 49 management considerably.

In the Philippines, recovery of recyclable materials

by waste pickers is significant in the recycling
industry. Table 2 shows the rate of collection of
recyclable materials by informal waste pickers (From
NSWMC Report, 2015).

Table 2. Collection of Recyclable Materials by Primary

Collectors (in kg/per person/day)

Primary Metro Metro Southern

Material Collector Manila Cebu Mindanao
Street
Paper Collectors 3.18 3.59 2.45
Collection
Workers 21.83 1.81 0.62
Disposal Site
Scavengers 22.01 8.21 12.86 Figure 5. Strategies of SWM implementation in Legazpi City
Street (Albay) (Source: Office of the Mayor of Legazpi City).
Aluminum Collectors 0.76 0.35 0.4
Collection
Workers 0.78 0.13 0.02 For example, before the implementation of the
Disposal Site
Scavengers 2.5 0.05 1.79 ecological solid waste management program in the
Other Street city, the daily waste generation was 0.5 kg/cap/day.
Metals Collectors 1.39 5.04 14.76
Collection After implementation and attaining waste reduction,
Workers 12.35 0.94 0.64 the daily waste generation was reduced to 0.29
Disposal Site
Scavengers 16.75 6.34 13.75
kg/cap/day (Sapuay 2014). Figure 5 shows the
Street strategy for implementation being practiced. This has
Plastic Collectors 1.63 3.94 3.5
proven to be a sustainable practice, which involves a
Collection
Workers 9.79 0.5 0.63 strong political will of the city mayor to clean up the
Disposal Site city of Legazpi. Such efforts earned them a grant from
Scavengers 20.32 4.48 25
Street the Spanish government to help them construct their
Glass Collectors 0.85 0.58 6.65 engineered sanitary landfill (ESLF).
Collection
Workers 6.58 0.26 0.94 2) Virac (Catanduanes). is a small capital city in
Disposal Site the Bicol Region wherein the newly-elected mayor has
Scavengers 9.96 0.32 49.64
also practiced a strong political will to implement

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sustainable solid waste management by embarking on
a low-cost (as opposed to prohibitive cost measures in
highly developed countries) but effective
management of solid waste.
3) Figure 6 below shows an ecological solid waste
management organizational chart for the
implementation of RA 9003.
Figure 6. ESWM Organizational chart for implementing RA
9003 (Source: Virac Presentation Nov. 23, 2017)
To implement a sustainable solid waste management
program, the city has embarked on various programs
aimed at educating the citizens as well as in
encouraging them to carry out ecologically
sustainable solid waste management lifestyles.
Figure 7. Dubbed “Bote ni Sammy”, this project is one
ecological solid waste management initiative that has caught
on with the students in Virac (Source: Virac Presentation,
First National Workshop for Development of National
Strategies for Reduction of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants
(SLCPs) from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the
Philippines, Nov. 23, 2017).
Programs such as a massive information education
campaign (IEC) in schools among children and youth,
coastal clean-up drives and composting activities to
augment soil for organic gardening are being carried
out with the participation of their barangays. Virac
being a coastal city, the mayor has embarked on a
program to clean up the surrounding coastal waters by
conducting regular coastal clean-ups with the
participation of its citizens. Another glaring example
of an initiative meant to address residual waste by
putting them into PET bottles and cemented into a
building creating a decorative structure. Dubbed
“Bote ni Sammy” (Figure 7) taking from the nickname
of the mayor, these bottles, with residual waste packed
inside have become decorative symbols of their
relentless efforts to sustainably manage residual
waste.
These bottles now line up the walls of houses and are
also used to enclose plants in the lawns of t schools as
shown in the Figure 7 to remind the students not to
throw their inorganic waste anywhere but inside these
PET bottles. Such innovation and strategies help to
divert some of the plastic waste and residual waste
from the municipal waste stream (no data, however,
was provided in terms of the volume of solid waste
diverted). The program only wished to show that some
innovations can be used to divert some of the waste
from the disposal facility.
4) Cebu City in the island province of Cebu has
likewise came up with a program to deal with special
waste. These waste, which has potential toxicity are
collected for recycling as shown in Figure 8. Such
strategy aims to remove toxic waste from their
disposal facility to prevent contamination of land and
support SDG goal #3, protect the health and well-
being of the people. Among the main challenges of
Cebu City include the closure and rehabilitation plan
of their existing disposal facility, as well as choosing
Waste to Energy facility as an alternative treatment
and disposal system for their municipal solid waste.
Figure 8. Special waste has potential toxicity and are
gathered and put in containment in Cebu City and are sold to
recyclers (Source: Cebu City Presentation, First National
Workshop for Development of National Strategies for
Reduction of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) from
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the Philippines, Nov. 23,
2017, with permission from the author).
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5) Maragusan in Compostela Valley has also
embarked to sustainably manage their solid waste.
They came up with a solid waste management
system based on RA 9003 but tailored to their own
locality, as shown in Figure 9 below.
Figure 9. Maragusan’s SWM system (Source: Maragusan
Presentation, First National Workshop for Development of
National Strategies for Reduction of Short-Lived Climate
Pollutants (SLCPs) from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in
the Philippines, Nov. 23, 2017)
This strategy in solid waste management, without
deviating from the stipulations of RA 9003, on a low-
cost setting (unlike prohibitive costs setting in affluent
western countries) requires strong political will and
tough implementation of local ordinances combined
with creativity as well as skills to encourage the
cooperation of the citizens. The efforts earned them a
grant and partnership with an international agency to
help them continue their journey towards sustainable
solid waste management. Their greatest challenge to
date is the proliferation of plastic waste in their city
and recommends that a policy be crafted for the
manufacturers of plastics and non-biodegradable
packaging materials to have a buy- back center to
recover the packaging waste.
Figure 10. Glass waste is crushed and incorporated in garden
tiles. (Source: Maragusan Presentation, First National
Workshop for Development of National Strategies for
Reduction of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) from
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the Philippines, Nov. 23,
2017, with permission from the author)
This is one issue that Maragusan has not been able to
address. However, for the not-so-recyclable glass
waste, this city has come up with a strategy, which is
to use them by crushing the glass waste and are
incorporated into garden tiles shown in Figure 10
There are other municipalities in the Philippines
that are trying to comply with the stipulations of RA
9003 as well as their mandates stipulate in RA 7160 to
be the responsible body for managing solid waste in
their respective localities. So far, however, only a
handful have managed to comply with the laws on
solid waste management. So many cities and
municipalities are struggling to comply but without a
doable solid waste management plan and a dedication
to solid waste management, compliance remain at a
minimum and solid waste management remains at
unsustainable levels. It would take a tough stance
from the National Solid Waste Management
Commission as well as the DENR, as the lead agency,
to be able to come up with better strategies for
implementation and compliance. Such compliance is
necessary and contributes a whole lot to the
sustainable development goals stated in the UN SDGs.
9. Sustainable Development and solid waste
management
Sustainable development has been defined by the
Brundtland report (1987) as development that meets
the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Unsustainable lifestyles and solid waste
management practices in this generation seriously
compromise the future of the next generation in terms
of availability of resources, clean air, uncontaminated
land and pristine waters. Without recycling, valuable
natural resources are being used up at an
unprecedented pace.
While there are some cities in the Philippines that
are trying their best to implement a sustainable solid
waste management according to the stipulations of
the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act 2000,
these are just few and can be considered best
practices. Most cities have been hardly able to
implement the law. For example, in 2013, less than
half of the total number of LGUs has complied with
the mandated 10-year SWM Plan. Without it, the local
government unit does not have a guide on how to
manage their solid waste properly and would not
know how to divert their waste by how much. It is
important to plot the course of waste diversion
through well-programmed activities aimed at
reducing solid waste generation and prevention by
using the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) to adhere to the
goal of using resources judiciously.
LGUs must also bear in mind that solid waste is an
important resource, especially because most of the
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waste consist of organic waste that can be recycled
back to nature through composting or anaerobic
digestion that can produce biogas or methane (a
source of energy), rather than disposing them into
landfills where the methane produced will escape into
the air and contribute to greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere and can exacerbate global warming.
A well-managed solid waste will contribute to
cleaning the environment, help to reduce
consumption of energy and the use of virgin materials
as well as prevent pollution and contamination of
land, air and water, on which sustainability of cities
rest. Indeed, as seen from the best practices cited,
cities can learn from each other on how to properly
manage their solid waste. This requires cooperation,
without looking at political affiliations, which are
barriers to environmental management among
localities. One province in the Philippines, South
Cotabato, managed to overcome their political
barriers. Their LGUs were able to cluster together to
set up a sanitary landfill for the entire province. Such
efforts, especially by the provincial environment
management officer is worthy of recognition. This
case simply highlights the fact that unified efforts of
working together for the sake of environmental
sustainability will bear good fruits.
Further, with unsustainable solid waste practices,
without reducing waste generation, without
employing the 3Rs, seriously compromise land uses
with the presence of unsightly disposal sites that
breed disease-carrying organisms and contaminate
the land, air and water in the immediate
surroundings. This situation puts at risk the health of
the citizens as well as degrades the environment. Such
sustainability issues must always be taken into
consideration when planning for sustainable cities.
10. Conclusions and Recommendations
Sustainability rests on judicious use of natural
resources. In terms of solid waste management,
judicious use of natural resources means
implementing the 3 R’s concept to prevent wasting of
resources that can otherwise still be used to
manufacture other important products. It is time for
cities and municipalities in the Philippines to
seriously implement the national law on solid waste
management (RA 9003). They should implement
segregation of waste at source to recover materials
that can still be used and help in the recycling
activities. They should encourage composting in the
community to divert organic waste from the landfills
and prevent methane generation, a greenhouse gas
that contributes to global warming and the
consequent climate change.
On the part of the national government, it should
start considering the viability of solid waste projects,
including waste to energy facilities. With heavy
demand on energy, costs are bound to increase.
Sources of energy are becoming scarcer. Waste to
energy is an alternative source of energy as well as a
solution to the increasing waste generation problem
since landfilling shows that it may not be the best
means of disposal in the future due to the finite
character of our land, which can be better used for
agriculture, housing or public parks rather than use it
for waste disposal or landfill sites. In the long run,
these landfills contaminate the soil and groundwater.
As it is, current disposal facilities are already
contaminating the country’s water sources. The on-
going unsustainable solid waste practices are proving
to be detrimental to our health as open dumping
harms the environment by choking our waterways
with garbage, affecting wildlife and creating
contaminated lands that affect the health of people.
Unsegregated waste that are dumped in these disposal
facilities produce leachate that contaminate our
ground and surface waters, killing our sensitive
wildlife Also, these wastes end up in the oceans and
harm every living thing in it. Eventually our waste
comes back to us through biological magnification,
when the seafoods that we eat have had their fill of
solid waste and the chemicals from them are passed
on to humans.
The finite character of our land and resources
coupled with the throw away attitude of people
without thought about the future severely
compromise the ability of the next generation to avail
of the resources we are enjoying now. Judicious use of
resources includes proper solid waste practices, by
reducing generation of waste, proper disposal of waste
so as not to cause harm and reusing/recycling of
discarded materials to conserve virgin materials in
nature for use by the future generations. In the words
of Ede Iijasz-Vasquez (Senior Director Social, Urban,
Rural and Resilience Global Practice, World Bank
Group) “Without good solid waste management, you
can’t build a sustainable and livable city. It’s not just
about technical solutions. There are climate, health,
and safety impacts, as well as, important social
considerations.” These are the things that we should
have in mind when managing our solid waste. This is
the concept of sustainability and sustainable
development.
Acknowledgment
The author would like to acknowledge photos
provided by her colleagues from Maragusan LGU (Mr.
Ferdinand Bautista), Cebu City ENRO (Ms. Nida
Cabrera, Virac LGU (Mr. Angel Rumbines) and Mayor
Rosal of Legazpi City, who gave permission to use
some of the photos in their respective presentations.
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