Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje today vowed to strengthen its partnership with local government units and civic society in an effort generate greater public compliance with Republic Act No. 9001 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act to address environmental problems in Metro Manila.
“The DENR will level up its partnership with other government agencies and other well-meaning civic groups to get people really undertake waste segregation and other measures to reduce the garbage, particularly in Metro Manila,” Paje said.
According to Paje, household waste remains a big environmental concern of the government. “In the analysis of the country’s environmental problems, it always boils down to garbage as the main contributor. From flooding to dengue, from polluted rivers and creeks to mountains of trash, from unnecessary death of fishes that accidentally swallowed plastic bags in the seas to global warming, garbage is the common denominator.”
Thus, in the effort to improve the environmental quality of the metropolis, he and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Francis Tolentino, with support from local government units, have vowed to toughen the enforcement of the solid waste management law, particularly the segregation of household waste and collection.
“This way,” Paje continued, “we will not only reducing the volume of wastes thrown in landfills but also those that are indiscriminately dumped in esteros and other waterways.”
Relative to this, the DENR chief said his agency has already linked up with 11 local government units in the National Capital Region for the establishment of an ecological solid waste management system in subdivisions and condominiums.
The project, according to Paje, will initially target some 4,717 homeowners associations that have earlier been identified by the LGUs.
“Subdivisions and condominiums are very critical in our advocacy for solid waste management because the residents here are already organized and they are governed by their respective homeowners associations. Getting them to practice waste segregation and composting will hopefully not be as difficult as they will feel immediate benefits in terms of a cleaner and greener surrounding,” Paje said, noting that residents in subdivisions and condos contend themselves with container gardening, using compost they make out of their biodegradable waste.
Among the LGUs that have signed a memorandum of agreement with the DENR on said effort include Caloocan, Quezon, Pasay, Taguig, Pateros, Marikina, Mandaluyong, Malabon, Valenzuela, Manila and Paranaque.
Aside from solid waste management, the LGUs are also undertaking clean up of esteros and other waterways within their respective political jurisdictions, in support of the “Adopt-an-Estero” program of the DENR.
“We initiated the “Adopt-an-Estero” program because we want the private sector to prioritize environmental protection in their corporate social responsibility. We are heartened by the initial report that LGUs are now into it as well, not only for environment sake but more so to address their perennial problems on flooding and the season-related illnesses of their constituents,” he said.
Studies show that Metro Manila residents generate a total of 8,700 tons of garbage every day. This represents 25 percent of the country’s daily solid waste generation of about 35,000 tons. PAO, DENR
