SIENA COLLEGE TAYTAY College Department

Theology 6: Theology of Creation and Ecological Responsibility

Christian Response: Environmental Task and Responsibility

Submitted to:
Mr. Patrick B. Gatchalian Theology Instructor

Submitted by:
Arnie Dayag Ubay HRM 3rd Year College

1. Individual/Personal Response: What each individual can do?

My Personal Creed for Caring Mother Nature

I believe in God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. I believe that God Created the Universe out of love. God created spirits at a lower level of reality than Himself, and He created the material world at the lowest level of reality. God created time, but God transcends time. God created everything including Satan. God created humanity, and established the Law. God saw the end from the beginning. God knew the world would turn out just as it is; yet even with all the suffering it makes complete sense that a Loving God would do this. I Arnie Dayag Ubay, called by God to be steward of His creation the Mother Earth or Mother Nature, it is my home and the place where i live today. All the things I see such as the trees, water, and grounds where I am walking is part of earth. What does a mother actually mean or what does a mother actually do? What did your mum do for you? Isnt your mum the one who cared and nurtured you as you were grew, fed and kept you safe? For all the good things that your mother did for you, what have you done in return? Of course, I am sure you have most likely done all you can to reciprocate her love and care that she gave you all those years.

Now, how about our dear Mother Nature the Creator used to bless us and make the world inhabitable for us? Through whom we get food to eat, water to drink and wash our body, clothes to wear and keep our body warm, and a place to rest our weary soul. What have you done in return for all the good things Mother Nature has blessed us with? Well, for most of us, we have done absolutely nothing. We keep taking and that is why sometimes one part of the world feels some kind of pain, like the one Haiti is currently passing through.

Have you not felt it or seen the wrath of Mother Nature through the number of freak storms occurring, the weather changes, how the heat of the sun can burn your skin, and why the air we breathe is no longer acceptable to human health. All these are signs of what our future and the future of our kids will be, if we continue to ignore the pleas of Mother Earth as she cries for help. We can all do something, no matter how small your act can be. In fact, all good things start small and your small action may not be appreciated now, but be rest assured that it will certainly make a difference and just like the fact that it will make a difference to our environment, if you only use things or products that will not harm them. The choice is yours but it is expedient that we care for the earth we live in. I want to save our Mother Nature by giving all my best protecting all the natures around me. I want to save the earth by giving the knowledge on how to save our Mother Earth to our community and how Gods love existed. Even before the existence of time with no beginning or ending, Love existed. Love has always existed and always will. Love is called God. God is the highest level of reality. God is existence, and God is Love.

2. Community Response: What the Community can do? VERBATIM REPORT

Introduction: This is my personal interview to Mr. Lee, 70 years old, owner of Samanthas Bakery in the market last March 22, 2011 at 1 oclock in the afternoon. I personally came to his house for an interview about waste management. This was my second time to see and talked to him. The first time was the other day. I dont know him very well. I only knew that He is the owner of the Bakery. My verbatim was translated and written in English but our actual conversation was in Tagalog.

Me Mr. Lee Me.

: : :

Good afternoon Sir. Hello, Good afternoon. By the way Sir my name is Arnie. I came here again sir to ask you about Waste Management.

Mr. Lee Me

: :

Waste Management? Its seems I dont know that. Sir, Waste Management is very easy. Its all about the collection, transport, recycling or disposal, and monitoring of waste materials.

Mr. Lee Me Mr. Lee Me.

: : : :

Oh I see, you its about garbage collection? Yes sir. So, what is your question about our garbage? My first question is How do you manage your garbage?. Do you have your own land fill in where you can dissolved your own garbage into the air.

Mr. Lee

Well, if you noticed here, outside our bakery we have a trash can in where our customers waste can throw their waste material.

Me Mr. Lee Me

: : :

Good to hear that from you sir. Inside our bakery we trash cans also to keep our bake shop in order. Thank you sir. My second question is Do you segregate your waste material Sir?

Mr. Lee

Segregating is sometimes very hard for us. Since everybody is busy we just throw our waste in one trash can.

Me

I understand your situation sir. Did you found any problem throwing your waste without separating the wet & dry materials?

Mr. Lee

Yes we have problems doing that. Sometime the smell is not good polluting the air with different bad smell from the garbage.

Me Mr. Lee

: :

Do you have any plans on how to eliminate that? As of now we dont have because we dont know what to do. Im old enough for planning. Maybe if you have plans for us just feel free to share it to us and teach us what to do.

Me

Yes Sir, all I can do is to share it to you what we have learned from

our school. Mr. Lee Me : : So what is that Arnie? Its very simple Sir. Just try garbage segregation or separation and Practice recycling of materials. Mr. Lee : ummm That is a good idea Arnie. Ok from now we will try to add more trash cans so that we separate our garbage to where it belong. Me : Thank you very much Sir! At this point we can help our surrounding in proper order. Mr. Lee Me : : We can also eliminate the bad smell within our area. Ok Sir. I have to go now and thank you very much for accepting my suggestion and allowing me to do my duty to help our community understand the importance of Waste Management. Mr. Lee : Ok Arnie, Thank you also for coming and good luck to your duty.

A. Analyzation: During my visit to the Bakery for an interview the owner doesnt have any idea about Waste Management. They dont have any plans and even endure the bad smell in their area because of their being busy in their business. They have only few drums or trash can for their garbage. Garbage segregation is very important in their area to avoid bad smell, flies, insects, and other animals that could affect the cleanliness of the Bakery. Mr. Lees business is Bakery, we all know that bakery is producing food for the people in the community. And if they have a poor Waste Management there is a chance that the health of the people around is in danger. The waste materials are not segregated in the

area. Because of this garbage collector will have a hard time to do their job well. Segregation should be down in their own business area or home.

B. Reaction:

Garbage segregation is a part of my Waste Management duty not only in my own surrounding but as well as the community. As a part of my duty I want to start in this kind of activity called Garbage Segregation. Well segregation is to put off in an area just by itself so garbage segregation is to collect garbage and put it in an area where it is alone its kind of like catagorizing something it would be garbage away from everything else. In this case,the garbage may be hazardous Garbage segregation should be a way of life. It should be a habit. It should be taught to every child in the whole world. It should have been even before the stone age. Generations have passed and yet, only now that it is realized how important garbage segregation is. Important than the price of gasoline? Yes. Important than rice shortage? Yes. Garbage accumulation is seen anywhere it will eventually creep its way to the streets of metropolis. For now, garbage is STILL manageable to a certain extent. Nobody should wait till it finally happens that no more dumping site can handle the situation. Practice garbage segregation now. Garbage is a big problem in many places. It is a great idea to have garbage bins for biodegradable and non-biodegradable. It very important to have those so that there will be no

garbage everywhere. There are just some people who are undisciplined throwing garbage everywhere. It will help to have a clean community. According to my research Waste segregation is the division of garbage and waste products. Waste segregation is the process of dividing garbage and waste products in an effort to reduce, reuse and recycle materials. 1. Recyclables
o

Paper, cardboard, glass, metal and certain types of plastics can all be recycled. These items are segregated from non-recyclables by homeowners and waste management companies so that they can be reused. Biodegradable

Biodegradable items such as yard clippings or grass, food and other things that can be naturally broken down are separated in the waste segregation process. Often, these biodegradable items can be used for composting purposes and recycled back into the environment. Batteries

Batteries are a huge source of toxins that can be spread into the environment if not segregated and recycled accordingly. Certain states have set up designated locations for people to drop off used batteries. Electronics

Electronic items such as computers, televisions and stereos are other forms of waste that can be segregated and recycled. Many states have set up electronics collection centers to recycle these products. Waste Management

Ultimately waste segregation boils down to waste management. Waste management is the process of disposing, processing, recycling and refining waste materials. Waste segregation is a big part of the waste management process. 3. Governments Response: What government can do?

A. Research about the various government programs and laws to conserve and regenerate the beauty of our Mother Earth.

Solid Waste Management In The Philippines Solid waste management is a must because first & foremost, it is mandated by law. The law in the form of RA 90031 specifies an effective solid waste management to protect the public health from the spread and/or outbreaks of infectious diseases resulting from unattended solid wastes. Deriquito (2006)7, in describing Makatis successful waste management, posits that solid waste management is a responsibility of the society.

Success in having an effective solid waste management can be attributed to a lot of factors: the strength of implementation of national mandates & local ordinances, the compliance of the people to the said mandates, and the supporting programs and/or offices

which ensure the sustainability of the project.

The Urban Waste Expertise Programme (UWEP, 2002)8 conducted a case-study regarding the community participation in urban solid waste management in 2 different barangays, and ascribes much of the success in these areas to the committed leadership and the support of the community members and other sectors. They believe that knowledge, attitude, behavior of the community members have to change before desired results are realized. Truly, without the individuals commitment to the project, all other variables would crumble. Although external assistances are very supportive, any project wont be successful unless a one-way top-down approach to community development is employed. Agencies cannot just impose concepts and programs in the community. What is imperative is that community participation be encouraged at all times. Community members must realize their important role, task, and responsibility in carrying out an environmentally-safe solid waste management.

Various community management approaches (CMAs) may be utilized to encourage compliance to the solid waste management program. According the experience of UWEP (2002)8, CMAs may take many forms at different levels of the society. Garbage and continuous generation of waste is one of the major problems of the Philippine community. There is plenty of garbage, in fact so much garbage that some agricultural lands are now converted into landfills. Furthermore, due to inefficient waste management regulations or systems in the country, the spread of pollutions from waste

generation has caused various environmental and social problems particularly in highly urbanized areas in the country. As they say, for every action there is a consequence, and in this scenario the Philippine environment has suffered the most. Many of its wildlife species have been threatened with extinction due to widespread logging and pollution brought by improper waste disposal. Philippines is known to be one of the ten most biologically mega-diverse countries where about 1,100 land vertebrate species can be found including over 100 mammal species and 170 bird species not thought to exist elsewhere. But unfortunately, many of its endangered species are now going extinct due to human activities particularly inefficient waste management. The good thing is, the breakthrough in waste management has been now introduced to the country through Spectrum Blue Steel Corporation (SBSC), an environmental company with an exclusive license to deploy biosphere process systems or biosphere technology in the Philippines. The concept of this revolutionary biosphere technology is, rather than having to dump the garbage, why not use it to generate energy or electricity? Biosphere technology is now another new hope for efficient waste management in the country. This technology is a waste to energy system that applies gasification into its process to avoid harmful effects to the environment and human health. It destroys and converts waste materials into green energy in a high temperature and oxygen starved environment thereby limits atmospheric emissions. It addresses both energy and wastes problems. Great technology indeed!

This technology is a promising clean energy and waste management solution in one. If it is developed fully, it could significantly meet the country's energy needs while mitigating environmental problems caused by waste generation and fossil fuel dependency.

B. Analyze if these laws and programs are radically implemented.

Solid waste, over the past thirty years, has remained the most visible, and silently dangerous, environmental problem in the country.

In September 1999, not one Filipino was left without a trauma out of the tragedy that befell Payatas in Quezon City. Hundreds died, buried alive underneath filth, as mountains of garbage collapsed due to heavy downpour.

This is among the worst human-made disasters that have ever hit the Philippines, a disaster we should never allow to happen again.

Dirty Living The countrys garbage problem has a lot to do with lifestyle. Every individual must be responsible for the wastes he generates. Considering that we are among the most populated in the world, with the amount of trash each of us produces, it is no surprise that our lands have become the largest dumpsite.

Our streets are lined with garbage, our waters flooded, and our creeks clogged with trash, even our mountains are junk all these are reflections of the need to heed to the serious call for waste management it is time for each and every one of us to stop living dirty.

And why? The indiscriminate throwing of garbage contaminates our waters, with clogged drains open for insect breeding which brings about diseases like cholera and dengue, targeting most especially, our children. Floods have become a common sight during rainy seasons. Backyard burning, or simply, burning of garbage, releases toxic air pollutants, which leads to respiratory diseases like asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer, even death. To be direct, dirty living equals death.

Trash Course

The National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), chaired by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), has identified three key trends in the local garbage situation: 1) increase in sheer volume of generated wastes; 2) change in the quality and make-up of waste generated; and 3) waste handling methods.

Everyday, the country has a per capita waste generation of 0.3 to 0.7 kilograms of garbage. In 2003*, we have generated 27,397 tons of garbage daily, a step backwards compared to the 19,700 tons of garbage we have generated daily in 2000 (*based on the study conducted by the NSWMC-Secretariat and the Metro Manila Solid Waste Management Project of the Asian Development Bank in 2003). That is tantamount to ten million tons of garbage generated in 2003.

Of the ten million tons of generated garbage in 2003, 2.5 million came from Metro Manila. This is a strong evidence of the forecast which indicated that by 2010, in comparison to the 2000 data, waste generation shall have increased by 47%.

Ways to Beat Wastes

Lucky for us, the Philippine solid waste composition is generally highly-organic (biodegradable) and recyclable, with 50 percent of the wastes made up of yard, wood, and kitchen wastes. The high percentage of biodegradables is an indication of the great potential of composting as a means to recover this type of wastes, especially those coming from agricultural zones. Moreover, potentials for recycling are good considering that the remaining wastes are made up of recyclable materials.

The DENR has always been steadfast in its commitment to reduce, and eventually, eradicate the amount of garbage in the country. Projects and programs on solid waste management are consistently being implemented by the Department, through the NSWMC, in coordination with the local government units, non-government organizations, international groups, and other government agencies.

To date, the Commission has initiated the closure and rehabilitation of existing open dumpsites, the establishment of sanitary landfills in municipalities, the establishment of an ecological solid waste management system, the categorized compliance for disposal facilities, and the promotion and development of alternative technologies to process residual wastes.

The DENR, along with the Department of Interior and Local Government and some civil society groups, has also conducted the Nationwide Search for Model Barangays for Eco-Waste Management System, to assist our local communities to comply with, and reward them on their compliance, to Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

Waste Recovery Programs are also being instituted by the government. The DENR has forged an agreement with the Recyclean Foundation, Inc (RFI) on a waste paper recovery program. The NSWMC, Tire Importers and Traders Association of the Philippines, Tire Manufacturers of the Philippines, and the Philippine Retreaders Association agreed to facilitate recovery of used tires for the effective management of the waste material which would include their recycling, re-use, and environmentally sound disposal. In terms of plastics and plastic packaging, the Polystyrene Packaging Council of the Philippines coordinated with several malls and industrial parks, to recover polystyrene wastes which resulted to the recovery of about 8,000 cu. m. of said plastics in 2003. An Agreement was made between the council and the Department of Science and Technology to design melting kettles for potential recyclers to convert polystyrene into other form of materials.

To spread environmental awareness, particularly on solid waste management concerns, the DENR, together with the Eco-Waste Coalition signed an agreement for the establishment of the Ecological Solid Waste Pavilion. It is a national center for meetings, congregations, trainings, educational purposes particularly for showcasing effective, innovative and creative SWM procedures, techniques and activities.

The DENR is vigilant in its quest to manage solid wastes in the Philippines. The government is bent on empowering the municipalities to address their own garbage issues. We are all parts which make up a whole in each municipality. Together, let us put a stop to the thirty years of garbage problem we have stumbled upon. We have more than enough.
C. List down the reasons why they are not implemented.

Policies, laws, rules and regulations about garbage disposal are everywhere around our country. But why garbage are still around us. There are some reasons why and this are the following:

1. People are without discipline 2. Lack of proper education, participation and cooperation. 3. Laws are not implemented in every community or weak laws. 4. They dont really know the effect of garbage during floods. 5. Nobody is being fine when caught.

D. Individual Reaction Paper

Garbage in a city can cause a variety of problems. These include contamination of ground water, surface water, and even the cities water system, if leaching of chemicals occurs from the disposal site. A lowering of pH by these chemicals can add to acidity problems in the water and even the air. Landfills can also cause sealing of the ground surface, which will lead to flooding. Disposal areas attract wildlife, such as rats, dogs and birds. Besides causing a danger of wildlife/ human interactions (birds flying into planes, or dogs in roaming in packs) these usually bring diseases with them, such as plague, meningitis, pneumonitis, and toxoplama-gondii. Another problem is the accumulation of infectious or toxic waste items. May people in cities do no destroy dangerous items, they often just throw objects that should be incinerated. This can create a heap of items as dangerous as medical waste or toxic and corrosive chemicals. Often there are infectious diseases associated with medical waste that can cause or heighten an epidemic. In short, garbage pollution in a city causes a myriad of problems. These include but are not limited to contamination of air & water, increased disease risk, attraction of undesirable wildlife, soil

sealing and flood problems. Garbage accumulation in cities has been a problem all over the world for centuries. Garbage is created both at a government level and at the level of individual households. Landfills have always been regarded as sources of disease and offensive odors. Early in their development cities generally have few disposal regulations and individual homes disposed of garbage in their own unique ways. Therefore, means of disposal were based on the culture, background, occupation and size of each of the different households.