Household Knowledge and Practices in Solid Waste

Segregation and Recycling in Barangay Talacsan,

San Rafael, Bulacan
Michaela Marie M. Cruz
Industrial Engineering Department
Bulacan State University, City of Malolos, Bulacan
Email: michaelacruz36@gmail.com

Abstract. Solid waste management is a worldwide phenomenon. Improper management of

solid waste causes hazards to inhabitants. It is a big challenge all over the world for human
beings. The problem of solid waste management is also prevailing in the rural environment
of barangay Talacsan, San Rafael, Bulacan. With the implementation of the law RA 9003
which provides guidelines for solid waste management. Therefore the present study was
taken to find out the problems and viewpoint of solid waste. An investigation was made
regarding the methods of solid waste management and the practices of solid waste
segregation. The data concerning to the solid waste segregation in barangay Talacsan were
obtained through an interview with the barangay chairperson, distribution of questionnaires
to random households and individual field visit.

Keywords: environmental problems, solid waste, solid waste management, segregation

1. INTRODUCTION management program which shall;

Environmental problems are the
detrimental effects due to human activities on the
biophysical environment. Concerns on the issues
with regards to the environment are constantly
discussed and improvements are made yet change is
nowhere but on the hands of every individual
contributors. Big change starts small. A country is
consists of small villages which would dictate the
success and failure of the country with their actions
and participation to the state.
 ensure protection of public health and
environment
 utilize environmental-related methods
 set targets and guidelines for solid waste
avoidance and reduction
 ensure proper segregation, collection,
transport and storage of solid waste.

The Philippines is consists of 42,036

barangays; 569 of which are a part of the province of
Bulacan (COMELEC, 2017). Barangay Talacsan is
among the many barangays which plays an important
part in the improvement of the environment. For
three years, the said barangay is under the leadership
of Butch O. Austria, the barangay chairman who
implements health and environmental-related
problems.
Figure 1: Cleaning brigade participated by the
Early Saturday mornings, volunteer residents of Brgy. Talacsan
housewives gather to clean canals, pick up liters and
uproot grasses along the side of the road (see Figure
1). Signages are placed on respective areas to inform
the citizens about responsible disposal of wastes (see
Figure 2).

The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of

2000 or shortly known as Republic Act (RA) 9003
specifically mandates all, especially the local
government units, to adopt a systematic,
comprehensive and ecological solid waste

1
 food waste) and soiled waste (blood stained cotton,
Figure 2: Signage for responsible disposal of wastes sanitary napkins) (Upadhyay, Jethoo, & Poonia, 2012)

This law gives the City and Municipal As solid wastes are characterized, the
Solid Waste Management Board which includes the importance of segregating these wastes before
barangay chairperson and the Sangguniang kabataan disposal is neglected. The reasons for this disregard
chairperson and other representatives headed by the would be; the lack of compost pit for the disposal of
municipal mayor to provide recommendations that compostable organic matter and the improper
would greatly suffice the needs and solutions to schedule of waste collection (Og-oget, 2014). Due to
environmental problems. Some of their projects the lack of space among the household backyards,
includes; encouraging the citizens to consider the residents include fruits and vegetables peelings
recycling, reuse and composting methods to and food residues in their wastes. Moreover the truck
minimize waste problems. that collects the wastes don’t collect it everyday, bags
of trashes litter the road side (see Figure 4) in which
This law prohibits household to burn solid dogs strewn the waste so the waste just scattered in
wastes as it pollutes the air and the ground as well as the street (see Figure 5).
being hazardous for human health. Previously,
according to the chairperson of barangay Talacsan,
when waste collections were not implemented, there
is a large number of household burning their wastes
on their own backyards. According to a lecturer of
environmental studies of the Royal University of
Phnom Penh, the smoke from the waste burning
activity has a serious effect on the environment. The
smoke that is emitted can spread around the
atmosphere and gathers up in the air, it will then
precipitate in the form of acid rain, polluting water
systems (Sok & Kim, 2012)

The implementation of RA 9003 takes due Figure 4: Littered bags of trashes

effect at barangay Talacsan on the month of May,
2014, every Wednesday garbage truck collectors
round up sacks garbage from houses and other
facilities (see Figure 3). Yet it is noticeable that the
solid wastes collected are not segregated. A
combination of plastic cups, used batteries, food
wastes and more are what the garbage collectors
collects from household.

Figure 5: Stray dogs scatter trashes in search for food

due to poor segregation of trash

The poor solid waste segregation does not

Figure 3: Garbage truck collectors
1.1 Problem Statement
There are many categories of solid waste,
this includes; food waste, rubbish, commercial waste,
institutional waste, street sweeping waste, industrial
waste, construction and demolition waste, and
sanitation waste. Solid waste contains recyclables
(paper, plastic, glass, metals, etc.), toxic substances
(paints, pesticides, used batteries, medicines)
compostable organic matter (fruit and vegetable peels,
2
comply with RA 9003 which emphasizes the
segregation of different types of solid waste for reuse,
recycling and composting.
1.2 Objective of the Study
The main objective of the study is to determine
the solid waste management activities present at Brgy.
Talacsan, San Rafael, Bulacan that contributes to the
growing environmental problems. This study also
seeks to achieve the following objectives;
 To characterize the waste generated by the
residents of brgy. Talacsan, San Rafael,
Bulacan
  To identify the solid waste management
practices existing in the community.
 To recommend changes or improvements to
the practices for better solid waste
management.
1.3 Rationale of the Study
The data gathering begins with an
interview of the researcher to the barangay
chairperson. The researcher asked about the current
state of the place with relations to the environmental
issues and the different activities the administration
has imposed to meet the problems. Through this
process of collecting information, the researcher
found out that waste collected are not segregated as
how it must be based on RA 9003.

By conducting the study, the researcher
would be able to identify the environmental problems
at brgy. Talacsan, San Rafael, Bulacan. The purpose
of this research is to examine the practices of
households in waste separation and recycling
activities. Through this, the researcher would be able
to recommend a change and improvement to the
current waste separation and recycling practices.
1.4 Scope and Limitation
The study focuses on the household under
the barangay Talacsan, San Rafael, Bulacan. Samples
were taken from different households coming from
different “purok” or subdivisions of the barangay.
The study used paper-pen-questionnaires due to the
fact that people are more truthful to their answers
given the fact that their responses are anonymous.
2. RELATED STUDIES
Solid waste means any discarded or
abandoned materials which are by-products of human
and animal activities. These can be classified in
terms of their original use, materials, physical
properties, and safety parameters. (Banga, 2011)
The researcher then conducted a survey
among the 178 sample population household from
the total population of 320 households.
𝑁
𝑛= (1)
1+𝑁𝑒 2
where; n = sample size
N = population
e = degree of error (0.05 by default)
Through observation, the researcher would
be able to provide additional information about the
problem and formulate a solution based on
evaluations.
3.1 Conceptual Framework
The conceptual model (Figure 6) has the
dependent variable, negligence to waste segregation
and the independent variables namely; time
consuming, no separate bins allotted, have no
knowledge about segregation, and lack of space. In
order to solve the problem and give
recommendations, the researcher must focus on
providing solutions to the given independent
variables wherein the dependent variable depends.

In many countries, recycling activities have

achieved increasing attention as a means of
protecting the environment. An argumentation occur
that it offers one of the most sensible solutions both
economically and ecologically for managing solid
waste disposal (Omran, Mahmood, Abdul, &
Robinson, 2009); (Rabinson, 1986). The
enhancement of waste recycling activities saves
resources and foreign exchange by reducing on the
purchase of raw materials, lowers the cost of the final
disposal of residues, produces cheaper goods that
help low-income households, and creates new jobs
(Cointreau, Gunerson, Hulse, & Seldman, 1984)

3. METHODOLOGY

The study area is barangay Talacsan, San

Rafael, Bulacan. the resident population of the said
barangay is 3,659 people. The researcher uses three
types of data collection techniques; interview,
questionnaires and surveys, and observation.

3
 respondents.
Independent
Variable
Respondents
Dependent
Variable
Purok 1
15% 13%
Purok 2
13% 14%
Purok 3
Purok 4
Purok 5
14% 15%
16% Purok 6
Purok 7

Figure 7: Respondents from each Purok

Figure 6: Conceptual Framework

3.2 Data Collection and Sampling Method

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The survey questionnaire was provided to
From the waste segregation survey form,
randomly chosen household of brgy. Talacsan, San
the respondents were asked to answer three questions
Rafael, Bulacan to be answered completely. One
(see Appendix 1) that are related to their participation
hundred fifty-two respondents out of one hundred
in waste segregation.
secventy-eight household have returned and
accomplished the questionnaires completely were
The first part of the questionnaire asks the
considered in the study.
respondents what completes the composition of their
trashes. This is divided into four categories,
3.3 Data Analysis recyclables, toxic substances, compostable organic
matter and soiled waste.
The analysis of data employed descriptive
statistics, which quantitatively describe or Figure 8 shows that a 100% of the
summarizes features of a collection of information. respondents answered that under the recyclables,
paper and plastics made up their trashes, 92.70% of
The data were obtained by conducting a the respondents answered glass and 78.65% includes
door to door distribution of survey questionnaires to metals.
household in every purok. The researcher
interviewed the household heads through the
questionnaires, in case the household head was not
available, the spoused was asked to answer the
questionnaire. In other words, the respondent was Recyclables
one who was involved in decision-making in the 200
home or one with knowledge about the household
No. of Respondents

expenditures and commitments. 178 178

150 165
The population of brgy Talacsan
compromises 7 sub-barangay wherein a total number 140
of 178 respondents of a household received the 100
questionnaire. Figure 7 shows that 13% of the
respondents came from Purok 1 and Purok 6 having 50
the smallest respondent percentage, 14% of which
came from Purok 2 and Purok 5, 15% came from 0
Purok 3 and Purok 7, and the highest respondent Paper Plastic Glass Metals
percentage is from Purok 4 having 16% of
4
 Do you segregate trash?
Figure 8: Household’s recyclable waste consumption
150

No. of Respondents
Figure 9 shows the quantity of respondents 100 128
who have the following toxic substances included in
the composition of their waste. 35.96% of the
respondents includes paints, 86.52% for pesticides, 50
55.06% for used batteries and 14.61% for medicines. 50
0
Yes No
Toxic Substances
200 Figure 11: Household’s awareness to waste
No. of Respondents

150 segregation
154
100 And lastly, the final question seeks to know
98 the reasons why waste segregation are not observed
50
64 26 within the barangay. The survey provides four
0 choices, which are the prevalent factors for the
negligence of waste segregation based on research
study (Og-oget, 2014). The highest shown reason for
not segregating as shown in figure 12 is due to the
absence of separate trash bins for recycling which
receives 26.56% response. The respondents says that
even if they segregate their wastes, it will eventually
Figure 9: Household’s toxic substances waste be mixed when it is placed on the side of the road for
consumption collection, which makes segregation pointless The
Figure 10 shows the quantity of second reason receives 25.78% response, it is due to
respondents who have the following compostable the lack of allotted space for composting organic
organic matter included in the composition of their matter. The respondents are forced to include the
waste. Both fruit and vegetable peelings received a fruit and vegetable peelings since there is no space
100% in the waste composition of respondents. available in their backyards for its disposal. 25% of
the respondents says that segregating waste is time
A 100% of the respondents answered that consuming, that due to their busy schedules they
soiled waste are included in their trash. were not able to perform waste segregation. And
lastly 22.66% of the respondents has no knowledge
about waste segregation.
Compostable Organic
Matter Reasons for not segregating
No. of Respondents

200 35
150 34
178 178
No. of Respondents

33 34
100 33
32
50 31 32
0 30
Fruit Peelings Vegetable 29
Peelings 28 29
27
26
Figure 10: Household’s compostable organic matter
waste consumption

The second question in the survey form

seeks to know if the sample population segregates
their trashes. Figure 11 shows that 28.09% of the
respondents are aware of the need for waste
segregation while the remaining 71.91% are not
aware of waste segregation.

5
 Figure 12: Household’s reasons for not segregating

5. RECOMMENDATION

The researcher will provide

recommendations not only for the reason with the
highest response, but provide solutions for every
reason, the implementation of these solutions would
depend on the barangay chairperson.

As the highest reason for not separating

waste, the problem with regards to the absence of
separate bins for separate waste must be solved. The
researcher recommends providing four large bins
labeled as recyclables, biodegradable, non-
biodegradable, and toxic waste. This will not just
promote waste segregation but also maintain the
cleanliness of the road side by preventing stray dogs
from scattering the wastes left for the collection.

The barangay must also consider providing

compost pit for the composting organic matter for
residents who have no sufficient space to dispose
organic wastes.

And lastly, the barangay chairperson must

conduct a seminar and lead the residents into
responsible waste segregation. Through this seminar,
the residents would be able to know the importance
of segregating waste to the environment.

6. CONCLUSION

The study shows that 128 out of the total

sample household are not engaged in solid waste
segregation. The reasons for their negligence to solid
waste segregation are given based on research
articles related to the study.

Households indicated that they did not

separate solid waste because there are no separate
bins for separated waste. As this reason gives the
highest percent response, the barangay must
implement the solution which is to provide separate
bins labeled, recyclables, biodegradable,
nonbiodegradable, and toxic waste.

The barangay must not only focus on

implementing solutions for the said reason, but also
consider the other reasons for not segregating waste.

Overall, the researcher concluded that solid

waste segregation at brgy Talacsan, San Rafael,
Bulacan needs to be improved and implementations
of the recommended solution would be of assistance.

6
 If no, Why?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS o Time consuming
o No separate bins allotted for segregation
First of all the researcher is thankful to God, for o Lack of space for composting organic
giving her the strength to continue and not to give up matter
while doing the research.
o No knowledge about segregation
This project consumed huge amount of work,
research and dedication. Still, implementation would
not have been possible if the researcher did not have REFERENCES
a support of many individuals. Therefore the
researcher would like to extend her sincerest Banga, M. (2011). Household Konwledge, Attitudes
gratitude to all of them. and Practices in Solid Waste Segregation nad
Recycling: The Case of Urban Kampala. Zambia
The researcher would like to thank the barangay Social Science Journal , 14.
chairperson and his colleagues for their logistical
support and for providing necessary guidance
Cointreau, S., Gunerson, C. G., Hulse, J. M., &
concerning project implementation.
Seldman, N. (1984). Recycling from Municipal
Refuse: A State of the Art Review and Annotated
The researcher would like to express their sincere
Bibliography . World Bank Technical Paper No. 30 ,
thanks towards the residents of barangay Talacsan,
25.
San Rafael, Bulacan for opening their doors and their
cooperation in the said project.
COMELEC. (2017, November 14). Number of
Philippine Provinces, Cities, Municipalities and
Nevertheless, the researcher expresses her
Barangays. Retrieved from Republic of the
gratitude toward her family and colleagues for their
Philippines Commission on Elections:
kind cooperation and encouragement which help her
https://www.comelec.gov.ph/?r=2016NLE/Statistics/
in the completion of this project.
SumofProvCityMun

Og-oget, S. (2014). The Importance of Garbage

APPENDICES Segregation. Community Reflections , 3-5.
Appendix A. Waste Segregation Survey Form Omran, A. A., Mahmood, H., Abdul, A., & Robinson,
G. M. (2009). Investigating Household's Attitude
What completes the composition of your trashes? towards Recycling of Solid Waste in Malaysia: A
(check as many as possible) case study. International Journal of Environmental
o Recyclables Research 3 , 275-288.
o Paper
o Plastic Rabinson, W. (1986). The Solid Waste Handbook: A
o Glass Practical Guide. New York, USA: John Wiley.
o Metals
o Toxic substances Sok, S., & Kim, K. (2012, April 18). The Phnom
Penh Post. Retrieved November 18, 2017, from Side
o Paints
effects of burning waste:
o Pesticides http://www.phnompenhpost.com/lift/side-effects-
o Used batteries burning-waste
o Medicine
o Compostable Organic Matter Upadhyay, V., Jethoo, A. S., & Poonia, M. P. (2012).
o Fruit peelings Solid Waste Collection and Segregation: A Case
Study of MNIT Campus, Jaipur. International
o Vegetable peelings
Journal of Engineering Innovative Technology , 1-6.
o Soiled Waste
o Sanitary napkins

Do you segregate your trashes before collection is

done?
o Yes
o No

7
 BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY
City of Malolos, Bulacan
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

Rubric for the Assessment of the Study

Household Knowledge and Practices in Solid Waste Segregation and Recycling in

Barangay Talacsan, San Rafael, Bulacan

Michaela Marie M. Cruz

BSIE 4A

1 2 3 4 5 Rating
DOCUMENTATION
The information
Organization

The information
of Materials

was very
The information The information The information was organized
organized and
collected was collected was was somewhat and contained in
contained in
not relevant. not organized. organized. recognizable
recognizable
sections.
sections.
The study The study
The study The study
Presentation of

The study was contained little contained

contained contained more
Material

contrary to graphics and graphics and

graphics and graphics and
established paragraphs that paragraphs that
paragraphs that paragraphs that
guidelines/ were not were not
were correctly were correctly
format. correctly correctly
formatted. formatted.
formatted. formatted.
The study is
The study The study
The study well written and
Grammar and Clarity

communicates communicates
effectively ideas are well
The study is ideas ideas
communicates developed and
poorly written adequately. The adequately. The
ideas. The explained.
and confusing. study contains study contains
writing is Sentences and
Ideas are not some some
grammatically paragraphs are
communicated grammatical grammatical
correct, but grammatically
effectively. errors. Many errors. Some
some sections correct. Uses
sections lack sections lack
lack clarity. subheadings
clarity. clarity.
appropriately.
SUB-TOTAL

8
 1 2 3 4 5 Rating
FEASIBILITY
The abstract is
The abstract has well organized
The abstract is
The abstract is The abstract an and has a tight
Abstract

somewhat
not appropriate lacks focus or organizational and cohesive
focused or has
to the contains major structure and the focus that is
minor drifts in
document. drifts in focus. focus is clear integrated
the focus.
throughout. throughout the
document.
Assumptions

Provides Provides clearly

Provides
Provides no inappropriate or Provides few appropriate
adequate
assumption to insufficient assumptions to assumptions to
assumptions to
support position assumptions to support position support
support position
support position position.

Identifies
The
appropriate
methodologies Identifies
methodologies
described are appropriate
Methodology

The and research Identifies

either not suited methodologies
methodologies techniques but appropriate
to the study. The and research
described are many details are methodologies
methodology is techniques but
either poorly missing or and research
under- some details are
suited to study. vague. The techniques.
developed missing or
methodology is
and/or is not vague.
largely
feasible.
incomplete.
Provides
Supporting

Provides Provides clearly

Evidence

Provides no Provides little inappropriate or

adequate appropriate
evidence to evidence to insufficient
evidence to evidence to
support position support position evidence to
support position support position
support position
The results
The results
The results clearly align
discussed are
The statistics section is with study
The results consistent with
used are somewhat hypotheses and
section is under hypotheses and
inappropriate to developed. the data analytic
developed. the data analytic
test study Results section plan. Tables are
Results section plan. Tables are
Results and Discussion

hypotheses. Or, is incomplete in well integrated

is incomplete in somewhat
results are that tables are and discussed in
that tables are integrated and
discussed somewhat the section.
not integrated or discussed in the
incorrectly or integrated, or Controls and
preliminary section.
inappropriately. preliminary preliminary
analyses and Adequate
There is not a analyses and analyses are
statistical justification of
good statistical well explained
controls are not preliminary
correspondence controls are not and justified.
justified. analyses and
between the justified. The statistical
Results are not statistical
tables and the Results are results are
described controls. The
written sometimes discussed in a
accurately. statistical results
document. described sophisticated
are discussed
accurately. and accurate
adequately.
way.
SUB-TOTAL

9
 1 2 3 4 5 Rating
Provides a
Adequately
The integration sophisticated
integrates the
of the findings integration of
findings within
within the the findings
the extant
Integration and Analysis
The integration extant literature within the
literature.
No integration of the findings is complete but extant literature.
Addresses how
of the findings within the not convincing Clarifies how
the findings
within the extant literature enough to prove the findings
prove the
extant literature. is superficial or the feasibility of prove the
feasibility of the
Fails to attend incomplete to the study. feasibility of the
study. Attends
to issues of prove the Poorly justifies study. Addresses
to issues of
feasibility. feasibility of the the strengths, strengths,
strengths,
study. weaknesses, and weaknesses, and
weaknesses, and
limitations of limitations of
limitations of
the current the current
the current
study. study accurately
study.
and insightfully.

The manuscript
References and Citations

has several
instances of Properly cited.
Properly and
improper use of May have a few
The manuscript The manuscript explicitly cited.
citations. instances in
has no lacks proper Reference list
Contains several which proper
citations. citations. matches
statements citations are
citations
without missing.
appropriately
citing.

SUB-TOTAL

TOTAL

Evaluated By:

Dyan G. Rodriguez, PIE, ASEAN Engr.

10