SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES

As of 2019, Manila is the Philippines' capital and the world's most densely inhabited city proper,
with 71,263 inhabitants per square kilometer. On the eastern shores of Manila Bay, the city is located.
The Pasig River divides the city into north and south halves as it passes through the heart of the city. The
phrase "Manila" can apply to the entire metropolitan area, the broader metropolitan area, or the city
proper. The significantly bigger Quezon City and the Makati Central Business District are included in the
officially designated metropolitan area known as Metro Manila, the Philippines' capital region. It is the
country's most populous region, as well as one of the world's most populous urban areas and one of
Southeast Asia's wealthiest. According to WOIMA, 2020 The city proper has a population of 1.8 million
people, with a total population of approximately 13 million in Metro Manila.
In the Philippines, solid waste management remains a big issue, particularly in urban areas such
as Metro Manila. The country's solid waste management is plagued by improper trash disposal, poor
waste collection, and a shortage of disposal facilities. Unless these issues are addressed, garbage
generated from diverse sources will continue to pose health risks and have major environmental
consequences, such as contamination of ground and surface water, flooding, air pollution, and disease
spread. Every day, Metro Manila produces over 10,000 tons of waste, which is anticipated to treble by
2030. A large amount of the garbage is either burned openly, further polluting the city's already dirty air,
or dumped in rivers, creeks, and Manila Bay.
The "Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000," also known as Republic Act No. 9003,
was enacted on January 26, 2001, to address the country's growing solid waste problem. It establishes the
legislative basis for the country's methodical, comprehensive, and environmentally sound solid waste
management program, which will ensure public health and environmental protection. It also establishes
the essential institutional institutions, such as the National Solid Waste Management Commission
(NSWMC), which will oversee the implementation of solid waste management plans and prescribe
policies and incentives to meet the Act's objectives.

Figure
1. SWM

System Prescribed under RA 9003

Ecological Solid Waste Management Program Act of 2000 provides that the ESWM policy is based
on the management of waste in the following hierarchy:
 1. Reduction of waste generated at the source (avoidance) and minimization of waste generated at
the source.
2. Waste re-use, recycling, and resource recovery at the barangay level
3. Efficient garbage collection, transfer, and transportation by the city/municipality.
4. Efficient residuals management and final disposal sites, as well as any other associated
technologies for residual destruction/reuse

Table 2.
Waste

Generation of the Philippines, 2012-2016 (Tons per day) (Source SWMC)

With the expansion in population, improved living conditions, rapid economic growth, and
industrialization, trash output in the Philippines continues to climb, particularly in metropolitan areas. The
NSWMC calculated that the country's waste generation climbed consistently from 37,427.46 tons per day
in 2012 to 40,087.45 tons in 2016, with an estimated average per capita waste generation of 0.40 kg per
day for both urban and rural areas. Due to its population size, larger number of establishments, and
contemporary lifestyle, the National Capital Region (NCR) generated the most garbage over the last five
years, as expected. In 2016, Metropolitan Manila created 9,212.92 tons of garbage per day, based on a
projected population of 12 million people. Region 4A comes in second with 4,440.15 tons per day (11.08
percent) and Region 3 comes in third with 3,890.12 tons per day (9.70 percent) (NSWC).
According to the Hoornweg and Perinaz, 2012, solid waste production in Philippine cities will
increase by 165 percent to 77,776 tons per day by 2025, up from 29,315 tons, as a result of a projected
47.3 percent increase in urban population by 2025 and a projected doubling of municipal solid waste
(MSW) generation per capita to 0.9 kilogram per day by 2025 from the current 0.5 kilogram , delivering a
direct message There is a link between the level of income per capita in cities and the level of pollution.
The amount of garbage produced per capital. This also implies that the Philippines has one of the lowest
garbage generation rates in the world region, as well as across countries with similar income levels.
Due to the technological, political, and financial restrictions of concerned agencies and LGUs, more
than 19 years after the passage of RA 9003, enforcement and compliance with the law remains a difficult
issue. The majority of LGUs have yet to implement RA 9003, particularly in terms of establishing local
SWM boards, submitting SWM plans, establishing MRFs, and closing all open and controlled dumpsites.
 To improve compliance with RA 9003, LGUs should be given more training, notably in
understanding the Act's provisions and establishing SWM plans. They aided in the development of
alternative finance arrangements for SWM activities rather than relying solely on national government
subsidies. They should also be provided guidance on how to use government financing institutions' (GFI)
facilities and how to engage the private sector to generate funding for SWM operations. To instill the
correct mentality among the people to actively participate in SWM activities and practices, there must be
ongoing education and public awareness building. As a result, incorporating Ecological Solid Waste
Management (ESWM) into school curricula at all levels, as done in nations such as Japan and Singapore,
is strongly encouraged.
It is worth noting that the Office of the Ombudsman is currently monitoring LGU compliance to RA
9003 through its Solid Waste Management Compliance Program, which was launched on April 22, 2013,
in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-EMB and
NSWMC, as well as environmental groups. LGUs are required to do a self-assessment of their own
compliance status and to take voluntary corrective action as part of the Program. The self-assessed
compliance reports are evaluated, and LGUs with the best compliance programs get ESWM Excellence
Awards. LGUs that do not comply will face administrative or criminal penalties.
Finally, the bill (Senate Bill 370) introduced in the Senate during the 16th Congress to alter the Local
Government Code (R.A. 7160) to incorporate solid waste collection and disposal as a basic function and
empower local Sanggunians to provide for it should be reintroduced during the 17th Congress. The
proposal aims to inspire residents to advocate for the service in their local government units (LGUs), as
well as to pique local lawmakers' interest in planning and implementing a garbage collection and disposal
system.
A number of bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives to reinforce the execution of
RA 9003, including the following. a) requiring all elementary and secondary schools to adopt solid waste
management policies (House Bill No. 05087); b) institutionalizing compliance rewards (House Bill No.
05915); c) imposing stiffer fines and penalties for illegal waste disposal and other prohibited acts (House
Bill Nos. 770 and 05668); and c) performing a review of the implementation of RA 9003, in accordance
with Congress' oversight function, to identify the restrictions and challenges faced in executing its
provisions (House Bill Nos. 00425 and 00547). The passage of these legislative ideas could help the
Philippines manage solid waste more effectively.

REFERENCE
1. Frank Bui, Priit Värnomasing, Henri Kinnunen & Tapio Gylling. DROWNING IN
WASTE – CASE MANILA. https://woimacorporation.com/drowning-in-waste-case-
manila-the-philippines/.
2. Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, Act 9003,H. No. 10651 S. No. 1595,
(2001)
3. Hoornweg, Daniel; Bhada-Tata, Perinaz. 2012. What a Waste : A Global Review of Solid
Waste Management. Urban development series;knowledge papers no. 15. World Bank,
Washington, DC. © World Bank.
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/17388 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
4. AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF 1991, REPUBLIC
ACT NO. 7160, Section 4 of a, (1991)