‘Only 478 of 1,634 LGUs have access to landfills’

MANILA, Philippines — Only 29.25 percent or 478 of 1,634 local government units (LGUs) in the country have access to sanitary landfills despite a steady increase of generated solid waste, according to the Commission on Audit (COA).

Records showed the country generated 16.63 million tons of solid waste in 2020 from 9.07 million tons in 2000.

In a report on the Solid Waste Management Program (SWMP), the COA said that it has been more than 20 years since Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management (ESWM) Act of 2000 was enacted, but the government has yet to implement an effective garbage management program.

The 181-page performance audit report was uploaded on the COA website recently.

State auditors said the situation became apparent amid a steady increase in generated solid waste and the lack of sufficient material recovery facilities (MRFs) and sanitary landfills.

Enacted in January 2001, RA 9003 paved the way for the creation of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) tasked to address the country’s growing solid waste problem.

The audit body said the situation may be attributed to the “frail enforcement and compliance with the law” due to political, financial and technical limitations of the LGUs and implementing agencies.

It said a majority of the LGUs have yet to comply with an order seeking to create their solid waste management boards, submit 10-year SWM plans and establish MRFs.

Citing data from the NSWMC and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the COA said that as of 2021, there were only 11,637 MRFs serving 16,418 of 42,046 barangays.

The audit body said the shortage of MRFs resulted in inconsistent implementation of waste segregation and diversion, wherein a significant volume of mixed wastes end up in landfills.