Trash piles up in Metro Manila after New Year revelry  

MANILA, Philippines — Environmental watchdog EcoWaste Coalition has called on local government units (LGUs) to improve the implementation of environmental laws as it expressed dismay over the heaps of garbage that piled up on the streets of Metro Manila following the New Year’s Eve revelry.

During an ocular monitoring yesterday, the group’s “Basura Patrollers” observed mounds of garbage consisting of leftover food, disposable beverage, food containers as well as other discards from parties such as firecracker and fireworks debris, especially in populated residential neighborhoods.

EcoWaste also noted that public areas not designated by authorities as firecracker zones were also strewn with burnt firecrackers.

“The mixed garbage piled up along roads and sidewalks is a stark reminder of the need to step up efforts at all levels to counter the throw-away culture with a sustainable lifestyle that will, among other things, respect and care for Mother Earth, conserve resources, safeguard human health and, of course, prevent and reduce trash,” EcoWaste Zero Waste campaigner Jove Benosa said.

“Our society cannot continue depleting the Earth’s diminishing resources and churning out waste with little or no regard to their consequences,” he added.

Benosa noted that the national and international Zero Waste Month is being observed this January, so it is an opportune time for the public to learn zero waste strategies by “cutting back on what we dispose of, turn waste into resources and promote green jobs without incineration while reducing the emission of dangerous pollutants such as dioxins, greenhouse gases and heavy metals.”

EcoWaste cited figures from the National Solid Waste Management Commission, which projected waste generation in Metro Manila in 2022 at 3.6 million tons. For 2023, the NSWMC projected that trash to be generated in Metro Manila would reach 3.7 million tons.

Based on the NSWMC’s estimates, food and organic discards constitute 52 percent of Metro Manila’s waste while 41 percent are recyclables and seven percent are residuals.“prevent and reduce waste, manufacturers need to switch to sustainable business practices by adopting eco-design and extending their responsibility to what they make throughout the product life cycle, including managing the waste,” Benosa said.

Benosa said LGUs, for their part, must improve the implementation of the basic provisions of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, especially in terms of waste separation at source and setting up of materials recovery facilities.

“To reduce waste, people should consume with health and the environment in mind, shun single-use plastics, sort out our discards and make reuse, repair, recycling and composting a habit. A zero waste and toxics-free future is possible,” he said.