WITH the country’s population growing dangerously every year, the amount of garbage likewise grows, but even more lamentably, not too many know how to dispose of it.
The National Capital Region (NCR), with an estimated population of 12 million, which worldpopulationreview.com said expands to about 15 million during the daytime (most likely because of people coming from the nearby provinces whose work is in the NCR), tops the waste production category among all regions, and some studies say the region spews about 10,000 tons of waste per day.
So, what does solid waste have to do with climate change?
According to Crispian Lao, Vice Chairman of the National Solid Waste Management Commission under the Office of the President and also the private sector representative for the recycling industry, solid waste is an integral component of climate change.
“When we speak of climate change, we look into methane or greenhouse gas and emissions, and from the perspective of solid waste, we normally look at methane and emissions in our landfills, black carbon from the transport of waste to the disposal facility as well as open burning of waste so it’s very important for us that when we deal with climate change, we have to focus also on how our waste will contribute to climate change,” Lao explained during the recent “Do Good for the Earth” webinar by Watsons Philippines.
Currently, the Philippines has enacted Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 that provides the spectrum to address solid waste management problems.
Lao said the law defines the roles of barangays, the local government unit (LGU) with the job of setting up MRFs (Material Recoveries Facilities) to deal with biodegradable and recyclable waste and to properly dispose of the residual as well as hazardous ones.
With regard to compliance of LGUs, only 35 percent of barangays have MRFs as mandated by law. “Only 31 percent of our local governments have access to solid waste or sanitary landfill disposal facilities. So, it’s very important for everyone as well as corporate partners to deal with the waste that we generate so that it doesn’t end up in an open environment.”
So, what can be done? The National Solid Waste Management Commission is advocating for a food waste management program, he said. “We need to compost as much as possible our biodegradables, follow the hierarchy of waste avoidance, or avoid generating waste in the first place, bring our own bag when going to the groceries, participate in different programs that aim to reduce generated waste, then reuse and recycle. For the recyclables, it is important, if we cannot avoid generation of wastes, to choose recyclables such as paper, plastic, glass, and metals.”
For paper, white paper is highly recyclable, including carbon boxes. Newspaper because the junk shop will still accept it and the junk shops will send it to recycling facilities, Lao said.
But some papers like thermal paper, carbon paper, wax-coated papers, photo papers, scented papers, are not recyclable, same with those that came in contact with food, grease, and oil, the paper used in toilets, tissue paper because of the potential risk of pathogen contamination, Lao explained.
As for plastics, Lao said, it is categorized as rigids and flexible. For rigids, they are the beverage containers, containers for shampoo, cleaning materials in the form of polyethylene and polypropylene. Then the flexibles, which Lao said are a bit challenging to recycle. There are recycling infrastructures for flexibles as well and even sachets. But it’s important to participate in programs that recover and recycle flexible plastic materials. Of course, glass is highly recyclable, but don’t include in the recycling stream like light bulbs and ovenware, which contains boric acid.
Of course, tin cans are highly recyclable, aluminum cans, and all metals including copper. “We can participate in alternative residual technologies such as conversion to building materials, school chairs, and other different projects done by many social enterprise groups. “There are drop-off centers in some of the biggest malls for recyclable materials,” Lao pointed out.
But for David Katz, founder and CEO of Vancouver, Canada-based Plastic Bank, has a different story when it comes to plastic wastes. He believes there is a solution to ending poverty through plastics using a circular economy model.
“The plastic that others considered waste or garbage, we consider as worth. It is about the opportunity to collect and exchange plastic for school tuition, or medical insurance or Wi-Fi, or cellphone minutes, or in other parts of the world, clean water or diversified food source,” Katz said.
The Plastic Bank is powerfully tackling this very opportunity, staring off with Haiti, then the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, Egypt, and then moving into Thailand and Cameroon.
“We won’t end hunger, we won’t get to gender inequality, we won’t touch on education if we don’t end poverty. Recycling is a way of being and the way of thinking in the world. And that’s what the world needs more of,” Katz said.
Katz said their partnership with Watsons is an opportunity for the world to be witness of great change, to witness great organizations that are truly standing on the right side of history.
“You see, it takes the bold and the authentic to do something that hasn’t been done before. And we know with our partnership with Watsons, the world is powerfully going to not just witness the change of the communities and the lives of our collectors, but they are going to see a new way of thinking and new way of doing business,” Katz said.
For Viki Herrera-Encarnacion, Watsons Philippines Public Relations and Sustainability Director, they are proud of their partnership with Plastic Bank, where they recycled 833,000 plastic bottles, including providing customers with almost 1,200 sustainable products with better packaging and ingredients and help them switch to more sustainable options.
Encarnacion said that the world relies on fossil fuels that give gas, heat and oil, daily essentials that also cause greenhouse gas emissions. Same with animals that emit methane when they digest their food and pass gas contribute to global warming, while deforestation reduce trees that can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
But while it may be impossible to totally prevent global warming, there are some things that can be done to lessen the earth’s greenhouse effect, Encarnacion pointed out. “Walk more or bike or carpool. Turn off the lights or use alternative energy and grow a tree. Consume less. And if you really need to buy something, consider more sustainable products.”