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Environment is part of us. It is a part of the legacy that each Filipino living today could
proudly leave to the future generation. Unfortunately, environmental degradation in the
Philippines has ballooned into a major social concern. This is the Country’s deteriorating
environmental condition due to exploitation. Air and water are polluted. Forests are denuded by
legal and illegal logging activities causing so much soil erosion that eventually results in the
silting of rivers and oceans. Coral reefs are destroyed gravely affecting marine resources.
And the worst case scenario is the aggressive move towards development in many areas where
natural resources still abound.
Another sad reality is that majority of the Filipinos, including the youth, are still apathetic
about the growing environmental concern, with environment protection and management
remaining a misunderstood term. The government primarily gets the blame for the destruction
and mismanagement of our natural resources when it is every Filipino’s charge to take care of
the place we live in.

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 Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate-related disasters because
of its location, geographical circumstances, and socio-economic conditions. Therefore, great
imperative should be given to disseminate information and to educate the people about the
ramifications of environmental issues especially about biodiversity conservation and climate
change.

With this goal of disseminating information and educating people about environment
concerns, CHED issued Memorandum Order No. 33 Series of 2009 which mandates the
integration of Environmental Education in the Tertiary Education Curriculum particularly the
Civic Welfare Training Service component in the National Service Training Program.

The Philippine Government aims to increase people’s knowledge and awareness of the
environment and associated challenges, to develop the necessary skills and expertise to
address the challenges, and to foster attitudes, motivations and commitments to take
responsible actions.

Moreover, the Government is protecting its environment through its enabling laws. The
following are the environmental laws existing in the Philippines.

Republic Act No. 9152 - An act to promote environmental awareness through

environmental education and for other purposes. This Act is known as the
“National Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008.”

Sec. 2 Declaration of Policy -- Consistent with the policy of the

State to protect and advance the right of the people to a
balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and
harmony of nature, and in recognition of the vital role of the youth
in nation-building and the role of education to foster patriotism
and nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total
human liberation and development, the state shall promote
national awareness on the role of natural resources in economic
growth and the importance of environmental conservation and
ecological balance towards sustained national development.
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 Republic Act 9003: January 26, 2001 -- This is an act providing for an
ecological solid waste management program, creating the necessary institutional
mechanisms and incentives, declaring certain acts prohibited and providing
penalties, appropriating funds thereof and for other purposes.

Republic Act No. 9275: March 22, 2004 – An act providing for a comprehensive
water quality management and for other purposes.

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy – The State shall pursue a

policy of economic growth in a manner consistent with the
protection, preservation and revival of the quality of our fresh,
brackish and marine waters.

Republic Act 8749: June 23, 1999, “Philippines Clean Air Act of 1999” - An
act providing for a comprehensive air pollution control policy and for other
purposes.

Republic Act No. 9147 – An act providing for the conservation and protection of
wildlife resources and their habitats, appropriating funds therefor and for other
purposes.

Republic Act No. 9175 – An act regulating the ownership, possession, sale,
importation and use of chainsaws, penalizing violations thereof and for other
purposes

This module will concentrate only on the two most pressing environmental concerns
which are solid waste managment and climate change.

Solid waste management is one of the various ecological challenges in the

Philippines. It is how the people control and solve challenges concerning solid wastes. There
have been several ordinances from different barangays, municipalities, cities, and provinces
that aim to address this matter. Efforts of the Local Government Units (LGUs) in the Philippines
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are overwhelming but it must be a joint effort of the LGUs and its community that can actually
make it work.

Studies made by the National Solid Waste Management Commission Secretariat

estimated that the per capita waste production daily is 0.5 kg. This means that every person
living in the metropolis generates half a kilo of solid waste a day. With an estimated population
of 10.5 million, total waste generated in Metro Manila alone could run up to 5,250 metric tons
per day or 162, 750 metric tons per month; or, 1.95 million metric tons per year. Definitely, a lot
of waste to speak of.

Of the 5, 250 metric tons of waste generated daily, only about 73% is collected by dump
trucks hired by our respective local government units (this is with the premise that our LGUs are
faithful to their duties.) The remaining 27% of our daily waste or about 1, 417.5 metric tons end
up in canals, vacant spaces, street corners, market places, rivers, and places where, ironically,
there’s a sign that reads “bawal magtapon ng basura dito.”

We have an “out of sight, out of mind” attitude towards garbage disposal. The system of
garbage disposal can be described simply as: tapon (by the individual, household); hakot (by
government trucks and/or private contractors); tambak (in open dumpsites); kalat (due to
improper manner of disposal, retrieval, inadequate collection and over-congestion in
dumpsites); sunog (to burn the pile of uncollected garbage). The cycle is unending.

As part of the problem, we should break the cycle and take the initiative to be part of the
solution. The tragedy that has befallen the residents of Payatas dump site in Quezon City,
when its mountain of garbage toppled down burying many shanties as well as garbage-pickers,
should strengthen our desire to do something about our wasteful lifestyles.
Schools are cradles of values formation and students form the majority of is community.
When we educate students on the rationale, theories, and practice of solid waste management,
we form a strong alliance with future leaders who would largely affect the future stewardship of
our environment.

Paradigm Shift

Raw
Waste 31
Material

Use
 Dump vs
Waste site

Raw
Materi
als
Old Paradigm
New Paradigm

Source: Solid Waste Management Bureau Module for School. Quezon City: Miriam College-
Environmental Studies Institute and Environment Management Bureau-DENR, 2005.
Above are the diagrams that show the transition of paradigm from conventional
perspective to alternative or new perspective. Conventional perspective shows the solid
management starts from raw materials and ends with the dumpsite. On the other hand,
alternative or new perspective explains that raw materials may be recycled or re-used.

The Passage of RA 9003 also known as the Solid Waste Management Act mandates
segregation of waste, segregated collection, use of Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), and
composting encourages patronage of environment-friendly products and packaging, penalizes
violation in all levels.

How do you dispose wastes? Proper garbage disposal is significant in the environment
to help avoid environmental challenges and its effects. This would also address our problems on
waste management, particularly solid wastes.

The following are the steps on proper waste disposal. Complying with these steps,
individuals can help the government in enacting the enabling laws. This will largely aid the
resolution of ecological problems and contribute to environment-conservation.

I. Segregating

It is the process of separating biodegradable and non-biodegradable

garbage.

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 Below is table that shows classification of wastes present in the
Country. Generally, wastes can be classified as biodegradable and non-
biodegradable.

Biodegradable is a type of waste which can be broken down in a

reasonable amount of time, into its base compounds by micro-organisms
and other living things regardless of what those compounds may be.

On the other hand, non-biodegradable refers to materials that do

not break down naturally or take an inordinate amount of time to do so.
When thrown away, these materials cannot be dissolved by the bacteria,
fungi and living organisms in the air, moisture climate in the soil.

Hence, biodegradable materials decompose naturally unlike non-

biodegradable. From these classifications, sub-groupings could be made
depending on the kind and bulk of waste an establishment produces.
Classifying our wastes will help us dispose garbage properly.

Non - Biodegradable
Biodegradable
Recyclable Residual Hazardous

food waste white paper (bond Styrofoam (styro busted lamps

yard waste paper, notebook cups, electronic batteries
wet tissue sheets) fillers) CDs
wet paper card board/ carton plastic spray canisters
(corrugated boxes, composite and paint cans
folders) wrappers (candy
newspaper/ and junk food
magazines (tin wrappers,
cans, aluminum shrinking straws,
cans, aluminum paper plate with
foils, wires) foil)
glass (bottles, disposable
broken ceramics) utensils (single
PET bottles use plastic
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 (drinking water spoons, fork,
bottles) disposable cups)
rubber
others: clothes,
shoes, slippers,
yarn

II. Composting

It is the process where

biodegradable waste is placed in a
certain tank or a hole for a certain
time to let it decompose with the help
of decomposers like yeasts, worms,
and molds. After the decomposition,
the decomposed waste can now be
used as a fertilizer for plants.

Here are the steps in composting.

1. Chop biodegradable wastes

into finer portions. The smaller the
size of organic wastes, the faster the
compost will be ready for use.

2. Mix up the biodegradable

wastes and place them into the
composters. Do not burn on top of
the piles or composters because the
heat will kill the biological “decomposers”, thus, delaying the composting process.

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3. Sprinkle a small amount of water. Moisture is essential for microbial activity. Protect the
composters from accumulating too much liquid to avoid leaching (garbage juice).

4. Sprinkle or layer with soil so as not to invite flies and to control odors. Place the soil in
between the layers of the mixture.
5. Aerate the pile. Turn it once or twice a month to provide the necessary oxygen to hasten
the composting process.
6. When the interior of the pile is no longer hot and the material has broken down into a
dark and dry soil, the composting is finished.

Types of Small Scale Composters are:

1. Twin Pits

Dig into (1m x 1m x 1m) one-half meter

apart. Put small twigs at the bottom and place a
hollow tube for air inlet. Follow the rules for
composting, using the pits by turns. For an
average household, it might take a month to fill
each pit, thus allowing sufficient time for the materials to decompose or mature into soil
conditioners.

2. Tower Tires

Make two piles of old car tires directly on

the ground and use them as containers for
composting. To aerate, just insert anything in
between the tires. If placed directly on
cemented ground, line the bottom with soil.

3. Bottomless Composters

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 Old drums, cans, plastic water containers with the bottoms off, even an old jute
or rice sack with bottom seam ripped off and supported by 3 pegs or cheap posts.

4. Clay Flower Pots Compost

Have ten flower pots. Use flower

pots by turns. By the time the tenth pot is
full, in about a month’s time, empty contents
of the first pot and use as soil conditioner
for plants/trees/lawn. Pots may be stacked
one on top of another but keep contents
moist.

5. Plastic Bag Composters

Line plastic bags with soil, place

chopped biodegradable top with soil/leaves,
moisten, then stack them on top of one
another while awaiting collection. In few
weeks time, these become clean, safe,
odorless compost, very good for plants.

6. Compost Bins

These may be constructed from

chicken wire or any durable “basket”
material for small-scale composting. They
are designed to adequately accommodate
the necessary materials or ingredients and
to allow access of air.

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 III. Recycling

It is the most useful and helpful way of waste management. Non-

biodegradable waste can be recycled by creating helpful and useful things out of
it like the plastic bottles can be made as house decorations while used
magazines can be made into beautiful pillows. Recycling can also be a source of
income in the community, can really reduce pollution, save natural resources,
and conserve energy in the households.

Since you have learned proper waste disposal, you can now reap its benefits. Your
simple acts can make a big difference. You are not just helping your household but the nation in
general.

Below is the list of benefits of proper waste disposal.

1. Sense of Peace. A litter-free surroundings contributes to emotional and physical sense

of peace.

2. Protection of Human Health. By getting rid of the garbage that breeds flies, roaches,
rodents and harmful bacteria that can spread disease, we are protecting human health.
The conventional way of burning garbage is not encouraged because burning causes air
pollution and is a threat to human health. Chlorine-containing material like plastics can
produce the toxic compounds dioxin and furans. It has been found that even some
garden wastes can produce these chemicals when burned. This is the reason
incinerators were banned in the Clean Air Act. Burning of carbon-based materials
produces carbon monoxide which is hazardous to human health and carbon dioxide
aggravates GHG resulting to global warming.

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3. Alleviation of the dumpsite crisis in the highly urbanized areas and to prevent such in the
provinces.

4. Slow down of depletion of the Earth’s resources. When we recycle glass, we lessen the
pressure on our beaches from which silica is coming from. Silica is the essential
component in producing glass of any kind. When we recycle metals like aluminum, tin
and iron, we help lessen mining which brings about a host of problems like deforestation,
soil erosion, siltation, toxic chemicals etc. When we recycle plastic, we conserve
petroleum, which is the main component in producing supplies made of plastic. When
we recycle paper, we conserve trees. When we compost, organic matter and minerals
are returned to the soils and enrich it, minimizing the need for artificial fertilizer.

5. Additional income. Recycling and composting can be a good business having zero
capital. But, it takes a high level of perseverance and effort.

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