1

Chapter I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Disposal of household wastes has been a prominent concern

for as long as people had started to consume commercialized

products. Though there is greater attention to that in the

urbanities such as the Metro Manila, rural areas such as the

municipality of Catarman has its own fair share of the garbage

problem. Disposed plastics can be anywhere one sets his eyes

on, be it on the streets, by the sidewalks, and even in the

canals. Residents contribute great amounts of garbage that is

composed of different types of waste such as non-biodegradable,

biodegradable, recyclable, toxic and hazardous substances

which should properly managed and disposed.

For places like UEP Zone I which is not frequented by

garbage collector trucks, residents will have to resort to

other measures just to prevent the accumulation of too much

wastes. Residents either perform landfilling, incinerate it,

or just let the water carry it by dumping it in the canals,

which is a popular method for it requires less labor. With

the canal waterways directly connected to Alma Beach, it is

not impossible that the water of the aforementioned beach is

infected with E. coli.

Escherichia coli, as defined by Merriam Webster

Dictionary, is a type of bacteria that is present in water,

 2

in our environment, in the food we eat, and in the intestines

of humans and animals. This is commonly characterized by fecal

pollution and exists in various forms, some of which can be

very dangerous to human health and can bring about serious

digestive and respiratory tract illnesses.

More than a year ago, there have been reports of no less

than ten people dead due to E. coli in an island town in the

Southern part of the Philippines. And a year before that,

over a hundred hospitalized due to the same cause (Xinhua,

2018).

With these concerns in mind, people should realize the

weight of their dump being thrown into the canals for it

affects everyone in their community. It will result to a

serious problem especially in terms of resident’s health. It

could be a breeding place of any type of harmful bacteria

such as E. coli. Children enjoy soaking in the beach not

knowing the next day, they may have acquired diarrhea. Knowing

this, the researchers found this topic to be of great

significance to the present setting.

This study will focus on raising awareness on how the

Canal Waste Disposal Practices directly contribute to the

presence of Escherichia coli on Alma Beach, Catarman, Northern

Samar.
 3

Objectives of the Study

This study will be focusing on the canal waste disposal

practices of the residents of UEP Zone I and the detection of

Escherichia coli on Alma Beach, Catarman, Northern Samar.

Specifically, this study will endeavour to:

1. Describe the Canal Waste Disposal Practices of the

UEP Zone I Residents,

2. Measure and observe the presence of Escherichia

coli on Alma Beach, Catarman, Northern Samar; and

3. Find out if there is a significant relationship

between the Canal Waste Disposal Practices of UEP

Zone I Residents and the Detection of Escherichia

coli on Alma Beach, Catarman, Northern Samar.

Significance of the Study

This study will be conducted for the benefit of the

community involved and its residents. The Municipal

Government of Catarman in charge of the environmental

sanitation of the University of Eastern Philippines Zone I

will benefit in such a way that they can help deplete or

lessen the garbage problem in the given setting. This will

provide plausible solutions which will be drawn from the

statistical results of this study for the betterment of their

area and through this, awareness of such an issue will be

 4

raised for the residents to realize how important it is to

take care of their surroundings.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The results of this study will solely be dependent on

the one-month observation period of the aforementioned

variables and on the written responses of the respondents on

the survey questionnaire provided by the respondents. As this

study will be focusing on the canal waste disposal practices

of the residents of UEP Zone I and the detection of

Escherichia coli on Alma Beach, Catarman, Northern Samar, the

researchers will be neglecting other factors which holds no

significance to the subject such as the physical and chemical

properties of the water in Alma Beach, Catarman, Northern

Samar.

Definition of Terms

The following keywords and phrases are defined

conceptually and operationally as used in the context of this

study.

Biodegradable waste. This is defined as those wastes

which can be decomposed or can be broken down into simpler

organic molecules by the action of microorganisms (WebFinance

Inc., 2019).
 5

Diarrhea. This is defined as the illness acquired through

fecal infection which causes an upset stomach and very

frequent passing of wastes from the body in liquid form rather

than in solid (Merriam Webster Dictionary, 1828).

Escherichia coli. Commonly known as E. coli, this is a

bacteria that is present in the environment, in food, in water,

and in the lower intestines of warm blooded mammals. In this

study, this will serve as the bacteria which will be found in

Alma Beach to measure its extent of pollution.

Garbage. This refers to the excess materials from

consumed products which are disposed of or the items which

are no longer useful or wanted.

Household waste. It is a kind of waste that is produced

from each household.

Hazardous waste. A hazardous waste is a kind of waste

which may pose serious threats to human health or the

environment (Wikipedia, 2019).

Incineration. It is way of disposing waste by burning

the garbage and leaving nothing but ash.

Landfill. It is a method of disposing waste where garbage

is buried beneath the soil.

Non-biodegradable waste. Opposite to Biodegradable waste,

Non-biodegradable waste refers to the kinds of wastes which

cannot be broken down to simpler, a natural harmless state by

microbial action and can therefore damage the environment

(BYJU’S, 2019).
 6

Waste Disposal Practices. This term used in the study

refers to the preferred ways of the respondents in disposing

of their household trash.