INTRODUCTION

Garbage disposal has been a problem for every developing country like
Philippines. Garbage dont only cause clogging between canals and water
sewages that leads to flooding but also cause the spreading of various diseases
such as cholera , typhoid fever and other food and water-borne illnesses. It has
become a huge difficulty to address because, unlike prosperous countries,
Philippines dont have the proper facilities to manage it. Unlike England which
have their incinerators and America that has been dedicating its effort on
researching more on how to convert its solid waste into energy, Philippines is still
too far to a zero-waste environment.
In the time of the former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the congress
passed Republic Act No. 9003 or Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of
2000. An act providing for an ecological solid waste management program,
creating the necessary institutional mechanisms and incentives, declaring
certain acts prohibited and providing penalties, appropriating funds there for,
and for other purposes. This was the first law signed by the president during her
term aiming to address Metro Manilas looming garbage problem clearly showing
the effort of the government to solve the problem in waste. In 2007 first quarter
data from the National Solid Waste Management Commission shows that there
are 677 open dumpsites, 343 controlled dumps, and 21 landfills in the country.
An additional 307 dump sites are subject for closure or rehabilitation plans but
without definite schedules for enforcement. About 215 additional landfills are
being proposed to be set up nationwide.
Since the enactment of RA 9003 and despite the unwavering effort of the
government nothing has improved. The Philippines trash increased by 40
percent in 2010 and the ocean found 1,355,236 items of trash and people, nearly
400,000 volunteers, gather from around the world just to help Philippines. The
lists of the garbage in the ocean were plastic bags 679,957, paper bags 253,013
and food wrappers 103,226. Also recovered were 38,394 pieces of clothing and
shoes, 55,814 tobacco-related items including cigarette butts 34,154, lighters
and wrappers, and 11,077 diapers. These can cause poison and toxic in the
ocean and you may see these trashes in some body of water like the Manila Bay.
It clearly shows that the real problem lies in the attitude of the people towards
their trash. In the year 2008, most people never cared about where to put their
trash. Others dont throw in proper trash bins, others just drop the waste on the
street and they contribute to garbage problems in the Philippines. There is
clearly no right way and any approach taken must take into consideration the
social and cultural norms and expectation of the particular society. However, it is
clear that the developed successful strategies to minimize the amount of waste
material disposed of in the limited landfill space we have available to us.
Motivating and educating the people how to handle their waste is the key
solution to fully eradicate this problem.

Reference:
http://www.philstar.com/opinion/131931/metro-manila-must-solve-its-garbageproblem
http://imagineechoprojectswaste.blogspot.com/2008/04/alarming-waste-problemin-philippines.html

Christopher Henry Ng, Environmental Problem Issues of garbage in the

Philippines
Jerry A. Nathanson , Solid-waste management