By Catherine Teves
MANILA, Sep. 5 (PNA) — The Philippines is serving as solid waste management model for several Asian countries aiming to stop the health-jeopardizing and environmentally degrading practice of disposing garbage through open burning.
National Solid Waste Management Commission Exec. Dir. Emelita Aguinaldo said Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Mongolia already expressed interest in possibly replicating Philippine SWM initiatives, impressed with local examples presented during the three-day conference the agency and United Nations Industrial Development Organization spearheaded in the country this week to address the open burning problem.
“Those countries are looking into Philippine SWM initiatives that each can replicate with funding assistance from UNIDO,” she said.
Implementing rules and regulations of the Philippines’ RA 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000) define ‘open burning’ as thermal destruction of waste through direct exposure to fire.
Aguinaldo noted delegates to the conference expressed concern about open burning as this practice is dangerous and still widespread.
“Studies show burning various waste, including those containing pesticides and insecticides, gives off dioxins and furans,” she noted.
Citing experts’ warnings, she said dioxins and furans are toxic, persist in air, water and soil and are likely cancer-causing.
Studies also show dioxins and furans bioacummulate and biomagnify in animal tissue so humans that consume meat contaminated with both substances ingest these.
Aguinaldo said among the Philippines’ notable SWM initiatives are the waste-to-energy project in Quezon City’s Payatas area, a former dumpsite.
She said waste there is converted to energy, providing Payatas residents electricity for their daily activities.
Such project is in line with RA 9003 which promotes environmentally sound methods “that maximize utilization of valuable resources and encourage resource conservation and recovery.”
The notable initiatives also include establishment of an integrated eco-center in Negros Occidental province’s San Carlos City, Aguinaldo continued.
Aside from a landfill, she said the center has facilities for materials recovery and composting.
“Conference delegates from the four countries and UNIDO are very impressed with our initiatives,” she said.
The delegation from Laos even plans returning to the country this November to further study San Carlos City’s eco-center, she noted.
RA 9003 promotes establishment of sanitary landfills nationwide as this law orders closure of open dumps in the country.
Sanitary landfill is a waste disposal site designed, constructed, operated and maintained in a manner that exerts engineering control over significant potential environmental impacts arising from development and operation of the facility, RA 9003 reads.
Latest NSWMC data show the country has 55 operating landfills nationwide as of May 2013.
Open dumps are disposal areas wherein solid wastes are indiscriminately thrown or disposed of without due planning and consideration for environmental and health standards, RA 9003 further reads.
“As an alternative, sanitary landfill sites shall be developed and operated as a final disposalsite for solid and eventually, residual wastes of amunicipality or city or a cluster of municipalities and/or cities,” RA 9003 notes.
NSWMC data also show some 581 open dumpsites still exist in the country.