Last Saturday, September 18, the global community observed the International Coastal Clean Up Day, and numerous groups participated in it here in the Philippines. The activities focused on conducting information campaigns on proper solid waste management and clean up drives in coastal areas.
Just like in previous clean up activities, volumes of solid wastes were collected on Saturday. While many provinces, cities, and municipalities in the country have already passed ordinances banning single-use plastics, the problem of solid waste, especially non-biodegradable materials, is far from over. Several local government units are also not effectively and efficiently implementing ecological waste management.
Many groups are actively campaigning for proper solid waste management. From three Rs (reuse, reduce, recycle), it is now becoming seven Rs (reuse, repurpose, rot, repair, return, refill and refuse) in solid waste management. Some supermarkets are now using biodegradable plastic containers while others are using paper wrappers. There are cases that supermarkets and wet markets are using leaves as packaging materials. In spite of all efforts, the problem of non-biodegradable materials continues to persist because they are still being manufactured, especially plastics that will last a lifetime. Numerous consumer products are primarily wrapped with plastics.
The issue of solid waste has something to do with low income and poverty, too. Households that are earning less usually prefer economically budgeted consumer products with plastic packaging, and many of these items are essentials. These plastic packaged consumer products are not only limited in urban centers but as well as in rural areas, although solid waste is more pronounced in urban places. It is also observed that most of the solid wastes emanate from informal settlements.
Solid wastes further find their way to water bodies, such as rivers and lakes, and coastal and marine waters. Once improperly dumped, plastic wastes respect no boundaries. Some research findings claimed that plastic materials, particularly fishnets, cause the strangling of marine mammals and other species. According to some studies, several fish species were found to contain microplastics that are harmful to fish and people who eat them, too. There are documentaries about how waterbirds have been dying because they consume plastics. The problem of solid wastes compounded with the advent of the COVIC-19 pandemic with the proliferation and disposal of non-biodegradable and non-reusable facemasks.
In fairness, however, there are communities that started to be more aware of the implications of improper disposals of plastic wastes and they started to practice proper solid waste management, specifically recycling and reusing of plastic materials. These are in areas where environmental groups and LGUs are active in engaging communities to practice ecological waste management.
Yesterday, I saw the Facebook post of “What’s New Cauayan” on the beautiful photos of the old port, locally known “Pantalan”, in Barangay Bulata, Cauayan. That page devotes to popularizing scenic natural and other tourism features of Cauayan town in southern Negros Occidental. The post states that the place was abandoned for many years and it was opened to local residents and tourists for swimming, picnicking, camping, and other recreational activities without a fee. Through time, however, the scenic Pantalan suffers from improper solid waste disposal and it became a concern to barangay and municipal officials. The municipality, in coordination with the barangay, took responsibility for the place and it was temporarily closed, while environmental awareness campaigns and clean up drives were launched.
The FB post of “What’s New Cauayan” further claimed that the outcome was apparently excellent since the solid waste disposal in the Pantalan has been minimized, and efforts are still needed to make it a zero-waste place. I could attest to this claim since I was able to drop by the place during one of my recent travels in the southern part of the province and I found the place so awesome and clean.
It is also interesting to note those adjacent communities and other residents of Bulata started to appreciate and protect the natural features of Pantalan. This is actually another potential tourism site in Bulata. I am not sure though if the ownership of the Pantalan and the land adjacent to it has already been resolved. If my recollection is right, a mining firm that operated in Sipalay quite a number of years ago reportedly owned the place. Bulata is also where the Danjugan Island, one of the famous conservation landmarks in the Philippines, could be found.
No doubt that environmental education is of paramount importance when it comes to solid wastes. It is really challenging and it takes patience and discipline on how each of us and every household to practice proper solid waste management since multi-national and big corporations continue to produce and use single-use plastics on the consumer products they manufacture.*