SURIGAO EDUCATION CENTER

Km 2, Surigao City

Environmental Science
Requirements

Submitted by:

Herjay R. Sulapas

BS Architecture - 1

Submitted to:

Jay Em Ajoc

December 16, 2019

 According to Louie Psihoyos, director of Racing Extinction, in the documentary film, he said “When carbon dioxide is emitted into
the atmosphere, between a third and a half gets absorbed by the oceans, making them more acidic.” This increased acidity kills
phytoplankton, the organisms responsible for producing half of the world’s oxygen supply and harms many other oceanic creatures. The
film highlights recent and massive decreases in shark populations. The film also highlights the illegal market for shark fins in China, which
claims the lives of about 1 million sharks above every year. Sharks have survived four mass extinctions in the earth’s history, but now
human activity has decreased the shark population by 90 percent in one generation. Most of the film is dedicated to ocean quality because
oceans are crucial to global stability.

The film concedes that large-scale geological changes are not simple problems to solve, but it advocates for people to find a way
to help alleviate the problem. Overall, Racing Extinction drives home the message that saving the planet is worthwhile by unveiling the
hidden beauty of the earth. The film inspires its viewers to maintain hope and convinces them to see and hear the beauty and vibrancy of
the world that surrounds them.

Reflection:

What can we do to simply help in conserving and preserving our environment?

We live in a beautiful, God-created world and we all have the responsibility to ensure that this earth is preserved but taking care of the
Earth is not just a responsibility, it's a necessity. Things we can do to simply help in conserving and preserving our environment first is to
apply 3Rs one of the most important to us to take responsibility by applying 3Rs, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Consume less can have a
huge impact on the environment. The 3Rs get a lot of attention, but the planet could benefit from some focus on the most important and
most underrepresented “R”, Refuse. Second, conserve water. We cannot live without water. Saving water helps to preserve our
environment. It reduces the energy required to proves and deliver water which helps in reducing pollution and in conserving fuel resources.

In the Philippines’ concept, the two things that we think needed to be prioritized by our government? What does the government
need to do to address the stated concerns?

As individuals, we know about the small actions we can take to help reduce the emissions that cause climate change. But what
can and should our governments do, seeing as their large-scale actions are fundamental to the welfare of their people? High rates of
greenhouse gas emissions, paired with environmental degradation and the overexploitation of natural resources, have us in a race against
time. Ninety-seven percent of scientists agree that climate change is a result of human activities. And if we fail to stop global warming
soon, the changes will be catastrophic. As individuals, most of us understand what we can do to reduce emissions: save energy, use the
car less, recycle more, make better consumption choices, and engage in family planning.

But what can our governments needed to be prioritized?

1. PROTECT AND RESTORE KEY ECOSYSTEMS

Respect for nature is fundamental. Governments must protect ecosystems key to the fight against climate change: rivers,
wetlands, oceans, forests and mangroves absorb large quantities of carbon, slowing warming. Mangroves also serve as a barrier against
tropical storms, and wetlands absorb excess water from floods, both extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change.

2. COMBAT SHORT-LIVED CLIMATE POLLUTANTS

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most infamous greenhouse gas. Since it remains in the atmosphere for centuries (even millennia),
even if we stopped all its emissions sources today, the effects of climate change would continue. The good news is that other
contaminants exist that contribute to climate change and only last a few days or years in the atmosphere. They’re known as  short-lived
climate pollutants, and they’re responsible for 30 to 45 percent of the emissions that cause global warming. These pollutants include black
carbon (soot), methane, ozone, and the hydro fluorocarbons found in refrigerants. Their effective control, through national policies and
regulations, could accelerate the fight against climate change in the short term. In addition, because they cause serious air pollution,
measures to mitigate them would directly benefit human health. 

3. BRING YOUR OWN BAGS

It's such a simple thing to do, and so beneficial for the environment––bringing your own bags to stores not only helps cut down on the
number of bags needed, and by extension the resources needed to create them, it also means that fewer bags get thrown away into our
already-overfull landfills.
The Republic Act (RA) 9003-Ecological Solid Waste Management (ESWM) Act of 2000 of the Philippines provides the mandate and
framework for solid waste management in the country. The implementation however on the local government units reflects the lack of
institutional arrangements for waste management. This has been reflected through the utilization of unregulated dumpsites and landfills
exhaustively although other alternatives can be considered. Primary reasons were drawn from inadequate technical and financial
resources, lack of political will, unwillingness of stakeholders, and minimal local awareness. Consequently, there is absence of
comprehensive monitoring scheme of dumpsites and landfills operation in the country. Present studies reviewed in this paper evidenced
the threat that disposal sites may pose to the environment from potential leaching of hazardous chemicals due to dumped wastes.
Exposure of communities to health risks is also reviewed in this paper. Present review also highlights the opportunities drawn by adjacent
community through employment (scavenging) from the disposal sites. While these disposal sites may attract locals or informal settlers due
to perceived opportunities, they are similarly exposed to health risk. Overall, this review also summarizes key points to propose a
mechanism to improve the solid waste disposal system to meet the policies of RA 9003.

Solid waste management remains a major challenge in the Philippines especially in urban areas like Metro Manila. Improper wastes
disposal, inefficient wastes collection and lack of disposal facilities are among the dominant concerns in the country’s solid waste
management. Unless these are addressed, the wastes generated from various sources will continually lead to health hazards and serious
environmental impacts such as ground and surface water contamination, flooding, air pollution and spread of diseases.

This paper has demonstrated that solid waste management awareness, attitude, and practices of students and University employees are
closely linked, which suggests that one strategic approach to implement successfully a solid waste management program is education.
The school plays an important role on making individuals conscious of the consequences of their actions (i.e., reasoned action), in terms of
costs and benefits (i.e., rational choice), and on planning appropriate ways (i.e., planned behavior) to ensure the realization of what are
desired for human and environmental well-being. More specifically, with effective environmental education the members of the academic
community become more concerned with the mounting problem of solid wastes, have developed positive attitudes, and drive them into
collective action in mitigating the problem. As centers of learning, the educational goals, objectives, and undertakings of the schools can
facilitate the integration of environmental awareness, skills, and values which will undoubtedly transform the ways of thinking and actions
of employees and students with regards to indiscriminate waste disposal at school and in the home. This is a valuable contribution of
academic institutions to promoting and ensuring the quality of human life and common good through

environmental protection and sustainability in the campus. For an effective implementation of the law known as Solid Waste Management
Act, it is recommended that a school-based Solid Waste Management Program had to be institutionalized and sustained to facilitate
comprehensive awareness, foster ethical attitude, and form environmentfriendly practices relative to solid waste management among
members of the academic community towards a safer, healthier, and more sustainable university campus.

Amidst the exacerbating condition of climate change across the globe, it is relevant for the country to deploy mitigating and preventive
measures for disaster risks related to climate change. There is an evident need for an integrated urban infrastructure that are resilient to
climate change and disaster risks. An example is the investment in efficient drainage systems as a risk mitigation. However, we should
keep in mind that these measures also require an improvement in the performance of sectors such as solid waste management, to prevent
the blockage of drains that contribute to flooding.

Solid waste, if not responsibly managed, can be very detrimental to the environment and to society. Eliminating the negative impacts of
waste materials on human health and safety and the environment is one of the objectives of solid waste management. However, every
solid waste management approach can contribute to the worsening climate change as they are sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) not
just due to the emissions from their processes and the energy they consume, but also due to the methane (CH4) produced when they are
disposed of in landfills. However, the overall benefit of solid waste management will still depend on the amount of GHG it emits and it
saves.

Open burning, dumping in bodies of water, non-segregation of waste, disposal of biodegradable wastes in landfills, and operation of
dumpsites are among the waste management practices that result in GHG emissions. To effectively mitigate climate change, solid waste
management should therefore shift to more sustainable approaches such as waste prevention, recycling, and composting.

Improper solid waste management practices may also lead to disastrous events. Extreme rainfall caused by climate change can be
engendered by uncollected and mismanaged wastes. Human lives may also be at risk from these malpractices as they can lead to
massive flooding and storm surges. Therefore, for solid waste management to strengthen disaster resilience, the approach should include
continuous clean-up, declogging, and dredging of waterways. Climate-proofing infrastructure and waste management facilities should also
be taken into consideration.
Instead of viewing ecological waste management as a compulsory activity, we should view it as a means to create a more progressive and
livable city/municipality for its citizens. The public should actively participate and learn from the best and most effective practices. As they
always say, cleanliness starts with one’s own home; practicing to segregate our waste can go a long towards preserving our planet.

As the hotel industry continues to grow, authorities need to encourage sustainability by recognizing and promoting hotels that implement
energy saving and recycling measures in their operations. The study analyzed the Solid Waste Management of F1 Hotel Manila in
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig in terms of the solid wastes generated in the different areas of the hotel (public areas, kitchen, rooms, and
food and beverage area); the method and location of disposal of the wastes; the problems encountered regarding their solid waste
disposal; and the strategies that can be developed by F1 Hotel Manila to improve its waste disposal system. Data collection methods used
in this study included review of documents and literature, interviews, surveys and field observations.

Solid Waste Generation, Sources and Composition

Waste Generation. The Philippines’ waste generation continues to rise with the increase in population, improvement of living standards,
rapid economic growth, and industrialization especially in the urban areas. The NSWMC calculated that from 37,427.46 tons per day in
2012, the country’s waste generation steadily increased to 40,087.45 tons in 2016 with an estimated average per capita waste generation
of 0.40 kilograms per day for both urban and rural. The National Capital Region (NCR), as expected, generated the biggest volume of
wastes for the past five years due to its population size, bigger number of establishments and modernized lifestyle. With an estimated
population of 12 million people, Metropolitan Manila generated 9,212.92 tons per day of wastes in 2016. It is followed by Region 4A with
waste generation of 4,440.15 tons per day (11.08%) and Region 3 with 3,890.12 tons per day (9.70 %) (NSWC).

Waste Sources. Solid wastes are generated from residential, commercial, industrial and institutional sources. Residential wastes accounts
for more than half (57%) of the total solid wastes (e.g. kitchen scraps, yard waste, paper and cardboards, glass bottles, etc.) Wastes from
commercial sources, which include commercial establishments and public/private markets, accounts for 27 percent. Wastes from
institutional sources such as government offices, educational and medical institutions accounts for about 12 percent while the remaining 4
percent is waste coming from the industrial or manufacturing sector (NSWMC).

Waste Composition. The country’s solid wastes typically contain more organic components than other materials. According to NSWMC,
disposed waste is dominated by biodegradable waste with 52 percent, followed by recyclable waste which accounts for 28 percent and
residuals at 18 percent. Biodegradable wastes come mostly from food waste and yard waste while recyclable wastes include plastic
packaging wastes, metals, glass, textile, leather and rubber. The significant shares of biodegradables and recyclables indicate that
composting and recycling have great potential in reducing solid wastes.

The enactment of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act prompted higher education institutions including state universities and
colleges (SUCs) to incorporate ecological waste management in the school system. Thus, this paper aimed to assess the extent of
implementation of solid waste management practices in select SUCs in CALABARZON in terms of waste reuse, waste reduction, waste
collection, waste recycling, waste treatment, and final waste disposal. Respondents of the study included university administrators, faculty
members, non-teaching staff, students and concessionaries for a total of 341. A survey questionnaire was used to gather data from
Batangas State University (BatState-U), Cavite State University (CavSU), Laguna State Polytechnic University (LSPU) and Southern
Luzon State University (SLSU). Result revealed that solid waste management practices are implemented to a great extent. Among the
practices, waste collection got the highest composite mean particularly on the promotion of 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) in the collection of
waste. On the other hand, waste recycling and waste treatment obtained the lowest composite mean. In terms of waste recycling,
establishing partnership with local or private business for recyclable recovery program was to moderate extent. Waste treatment
particularly neutralization of acid bases was also of moderate extent. The study recommended strengthening of publicprivate partnership
(PPP) on the recycling and treatment of wastes.

Understanding the importance of nature and biodiversity for our own well-being can really help us to help nature. In these article, we have
provided some practical ideas that we can all try to reduce our ecological footprint, conserve nature, and connect with nature. We
encourage you to put these ideas into practice and share these actions with your family and friends.