Everyday individuals produce waste from their daily human activities. These wastes will be eventually thrown away. One of these wastes is solid waste. Solid waste is considered as any waste generated by daily human activities. Solid waste can be household garbage, food leftovers, and other wastage such as old household items such as papers, plastic waste in the form of kitchen equipment, or any other product consumed during daily activities (Solid Waste | Types of Solid Waste | Disposing Solid Waste, 2012).
According to the Solid Waste Management Status Report from 2008-2018, the amount of waste in the country is expected to increase from 13.48 million tons in 2010 to 14.66 million tons in 2014 to 18.05 million tons in 2020.
Due to the increasing number of solid wastes in the Philippines, the RA 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act was implemented. This act provides for a systematic, comprehensive, and ecological waste management program to ensure the protection of public health and the environment, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Republic of the Philippines.
This act targets all individuals and families that reside in the country. The main target of this act is Filipino citizens.
The National Nutrition Council stated that Solid Waste Management act has many benefits not only to our environment but also to our health. One of these benefits is that it improves the country's overall air and water quality, which essentially keeps us healthy due to the presence of less harmful particles in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Another advantage is that it ensures the safe disposal of any residual or wet waste by properly segregating the wastes, thereby limiting the spread and risk of infectious disease acquisition. Proper solid waste management also protects citizens from biohazards and physical harm, promotes community health and provides opportunities to earn money through recycling.
In our municipality, the segregation of waste is strictly implemented. The wastes will not be collected if it was not properly segregated. There were also plenty of Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF) for the segregation or separation of recyclable waste materials.
References:
Department of Environment and Natural Resources. (2018). National Solid Waste Management Status Report. DENR. https://emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/National-Solid-Waste-Management-Status-Report-2008-2018.pdf
Department of Environment and Natural Resources. (2019). Solid Wastes Management Program. DENR. https://www.denr.gov.ph/index.php/priority-programs/solid-waste-management
National Nutrition Council. (2021). Benefits of proper solid waste management to our health. https://www.nnc.gov.ph/regional-offices/visayas/region-vii-central-visayas/6221-benefits-of-proper-solid-waste-management-to-our-health
Solid Waste | Types of Solid Waste | Disposing Solid Waste. (2012). Prokerala. https://www.prokerala.com/going-green/solid-wastes.htm