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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. 9275: March 22, 2004 – An act providing for a comprehensive
water quality management and for other purposes.
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.
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
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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.
Non - Biodegradable
Biodegradable
Recyclable Residual Hazardous
II. Composting
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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.
1. Twin Pits
2. Tower Tires
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.
6. Compost Bins
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III. Recycling
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.
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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