ILOILO City – Nearly all local government units (LGUs) in Western Visayas have approved 10-year solid waste management plans.
Of the 133 LGUs, only Madalag and Altavas towns in Aklan province are still working out theirs.
A waste management plan serves as a guide for managing and disposing of biodegradable, recyclable, and residual wastes.
The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Region 6 hopes that Madalag and Altavas will have theirs approved by year-end.
“Nami gid ya kon 100 percent kita sa Region 6 nga may 10-year solid waste management plans,” the bureau said.
EMB-6 helps
EMB-6 is extending technical assistance and manpower to Altavas and Madalag to craft their 10-year solid waste management plans. This includes one-on-one coaching with the designated or assigned personnel of the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO).
According to the bureau, the pandemic hampered the planning of the two LGUs.
There is also a lack of funding for the construction of sanitary landfills and manpower.
However, EMB-6 clarified that LGUs do not need to construct sanitary landfills; they can instead cluster just like in Iloilo province where several towns use the sanitary landfill of Passi City.
Before approval, the 10-year solid waste plan will be presented by the local chief executive and MENRO personnel and deliberated by the National Solid Waste Management Commission in Metro Manila.
Data showed most of the region’s waste last year was biodegradable, followed by recyclables, residual waste, and special waste like medical waste from the pandemic.
Most waste was generated in residential areas, followed by markets, commercial areas, and institutions such as schools and offices.
Since most wastes were biodegradable, the EMB-6 distributed 120 bio-composters and bio-shredders to 120 LGUs in the region since 2020 to help speed up the decomposition of waste.
The EMB-6 said LGUs had more than enough time to develop a 10-year solid waste plan since the Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management (SWM) Act mandated it in 2000.
The approved SWM plans include strategies for residual, recyclable, biodegradable, and special wastes, such as the strict implementation of the “no segregation, no collection” policy, recycling of single-use plastics, composting, and the construction of a vault for healthcare wastes.
RA 9003 prohibits local governments from operating open or controlled dumpsites. It mandates them, among others, to establish materials recovery facilities, also known as ecology centers, in every barangay or cluster of barangays to promote waste prevention and reduction at the grassroots level.
A materials recovery facility includes a solid waste transfer station or sorting station, a drop-off center, a composting facility, and a recycling facility./PN
