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IMPROPER SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

Despite the Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, a policy that is mandated by the government, improper solid waste management (SWM) remains a major problem in most barangays. This policy, if implemented thoroughly and accurately, may yield the ideal environment that all people yearn for—not only a clean, but also a safe and healthy place to live in.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE

To increase the number of households that practice proper solid waste management (SWM)* from 27% to 90% in Barangay Manguiles, Municipality of Mahayag, Zamboanga del Sur by year 2020.

* The following conditions must be met for a household to be considered as properly practicing SWM:

  • Practices proper segregation of waste at source
  • Practices proper disposal of waste which may include the following:
    1.  Composting of biodegradable waste
    2.  Disposal at sanitary landfill of non-biodegradable waste
    3. Recycling of materials that could be recovered
  • Does not practice any of the following methods in disposing of waste:
    1. Open burning
    2. Open dumping in land or water 

CUES

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UPDATES EVERY EXPOSURE

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Specific Objective 1

To identify the current knowledge and practices of each household regarding SWM

Activities

  1. Conducted house-to-house survey on SWM practices
  2. Interviewed purok and barangay leaders on SWM practices
  3. Held a barangay assembly and presented the existing problems on SWM
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Specific Objective 2

To determine the common type of waste generated by the community residents

Activity

  1. Conducted Waste Analysis and Characterization Study among 30 households with the help of the barangay tanods
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Specific Objective 3

To strengthen existing SWM plans in the barangay and municipal level

Activities

  1. Reviewed existing municipal and barangay ordinance on SWM
  2. Established a schedule for garbage collection by the municipal garbage truck in collaboration with the MDRRMO-SWM Head
  3. Assessed the consistency of the MDRRMO-SWM in their garbage collection using a garbage collection logbook
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Specific Objective 4

To increase community’s knowledge and awareness on proper SWM on the household and school levels

Activities

  1. Conducted series of general assemblies that focused on the following topics:
    •  Essential components of the R.A. 9000
    •  Municipal Ordinance on the Ecological Solid Waste Management Program
    •  Proper waste segregation and disposal
  2. Initiated the following activities in the Upper Manguiles Elementary School:
    • Interactive story-telling activity entitled as “The Basura Monster” by Cristine Bersola-Babao
    • Lecture on waste classification and differentiation
    • Pageant dubbed as “Search for Miss Earth 2020”
    • Poster making contest and slogan making contest with the theme “Inang kalikasan, ating alagaan”
    • Turn-over of barrels, tarpaulins, and posters for the school’s MRF
Series of lectures
Lecture; Basura Monster; Awarding of winners in the Best in Poster Making and Slogan Making Contests
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Miss Earth 2020 Contestants

Specific Objective 5

To promote social mobilization in practicing proper waste segregation and disposal

Activities

  1. Created checklist on proper waste disposal of households
  2. Established MRFs in Puroks 1, 3, and 4
  3. Initiated the following contests:
    • “Best in MRF”
    • "Pinakamalinis na Purok”
  4. Held purok clean-ups and organized an agreement with the purok leaders to have a monthly clean-up drive
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Specific Objective 6

To promote composting practices among households

Activities

  1. Identified five (5) areas as vermicomposting facilities
  2. Conducted a lecture and seminar on proper vermicomposting
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Specific Objective 7

To promote recycling practices among households

Activities

  1. Incorporated recycling materials in a pageant dubbed as “Recycling with a Twist”
  2. Coordinated with Molave junkshops for scheduled collection and transport of recycled materials
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Specific Objective 8

To determine improvement in the SWM practices among households

Activities

  1. Re-surveyed households on their SWM practices during the monthly surprise visits 

EVALUATION

The figure below depicts the proper waste segregation practices among households. There was a noted decline in the waste segregation practices during the second monitoring. One of the explored reasons for this was the households’ lack of motivation to segregate because of the inconsistency of the municipal garbage truck to collect their waste.

Accordingly, despite the set schedule, there were times that no collection occurred, consequently causing their waste to pile up and be rummaged by stray dogs. In order to address this, the team re-established the schedule of collection with the MDRRMO-SWM. Upon the next re-survey and ocular inspection, it was observed that most (83%) households already have separate containers for different types of garbage at home. There were still few households who were not practicing proper segregation. This may be due to their lack of knowledge and awareness on its importance and health impacts. Another possible reason was their inability to transport their waste to the purok collection point due to their distance from it.

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Figures below illustrate the different methods of disposal for each type of waste.

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As for biodegradable waste, which is the major type of waste produced by the households, there was a noted spike in the number of households that were practicing composting (71%). There was also noted decline in unhealthy methods of disposal which include open burning and open dumping. There were still some who practiced these unhealthy methods as they had the wrong notion that burning biodegradable waste could help prevent diseases such as dengue.

As for the non-biodegradable waste, households already opt to wait for the monthly garbage collection by the municipal garbage truck in order to dispose of their residuals. There were still households, however, that resorted to open burning and open dumping. One of the reasons is the distance of other households from the purok collection points. They are unmotivated to cross rivers and bridges to bring their collected residuals, thereby opting to unhealthy methods of disposal. This low motivation and compliance may also be due to the low number of residuals that they produce.

Majority (74%) of the households continuously sell their recyclables to the coordinated junkshop as there are now available sidecars that roam around the barangay at fixed schedules. Few, however, continue to practice harmful methods of disposal.

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Overall, there was an increasing trend in practicing proper SWM based from the set criteria. Although this shows a positive result, the team still did not meet its objective of 90%. One of the major reasons is the presence of households that continually practice unhealthy methods of disposal and this can be because of the lack of awareness and knowledge on how environmental health affects personal safety. The distance of some households from the purok collection points could also serve as a barrier for them to practice proper SWM. Although the team did not achieve the goal of 90%, the barangay has now a more established system and resources on SWM since there is already a set schedule for garbage collection and purok clean-ups, and the presence of three (3) MRFs in the barangay.