Change in attitude key to successful waste segregation among households

(Third of four parts)

Froilan Grate, president of Mother Earth Foundation, said a positive attitude on waste management or waste segregation can be developed by any type of community, and compliance with proper waste management is not just true for high-income households.

Grate said both high- and low-income households, if provided the right program for garbage in their respective areas, will be able to actively participate and contribute to effective waste management.

“As long as there is a program guiding the residents or the community, the latter will be able to comply and do waste segregation in their respective households,” Grate said.

He said that initially, low-income households, including those living in depressed communities, will really have difficulty doing proper waste segregation since they will really have to commit themselves to it despite the factors like attending first to whatever means of livelihood they have, and having no space for the task. 

Mother Earth Foundation, an environmental group that helps out particular communities on dealing with environmental issues and garbage problems, said there are already success stories on waste segregation among low- to middle- to high-income households.

Grate’s group conducts workshops on ecological waste management to different sectors — barangays, cities, schools, church organizations, government offices, private offices, civic organizations, and business establishments.

Grate said, “Our goals for the workshops are: education and awareness of the people on environment protection and proper waste management, reduction of waste, segregation at source, composting and recycling toward a zero waste society; and decentralization of waste management through the establishment of a materials recovery facility (MRF) in every barangay or in a cluster of barangays and in schools, offices, churches, and business establishments.”

He said a MRF must have a composting area and a small warehouse to temporary store the clean recyclables. “The clean recyclables are sold to junkshops for ultimate sale to the factories. These MRFs, because they are such in a small scale, are not capital-intensive as differentiated from MRFs in industrialized countries. No expensive and highly technical equipment are needed.”

Grate said, “The attitude of residents play a big role in making them actively participate and be part of the system that is aimed at protecting the environment.”

He added the ordinances crafted by local government units are really necessary to make the people do their part in addressing the garbage problem.

Enabling ordinances

“There should be an enabling ordinance that will really give direction to the communities on how to handle garbage properly,” he said.

If garbage programs are localized such that city and barangay officials are the ones seriously implementing it, then it will be more effective, and the residents will learn and realize the importance of being responsible with the garbage they produce, Grate said. 

Frederika Rentoy, chief of Quezon City’s Environment Protection and Waste Management Division, also believes that regardless of social status, it’s the change in attitude that will help people properly address the garbage problem, and eventually, effect change.

“We must realize that even the government has limited resources down to the barangay level. The garbage contractors and their trucks are not on duty 24 hours. The responsibility lies with the stakeholders, especially with the waste generators. It’s really the management of garbage. You cannot just say that you don’t have space for you to segregate waste properly,” she said.             

She added that the important thing is that all the household members are made aware of the need to segregate wastes. “If you don’t have a helper in the house, garbage is your responsibility. If you assume responsibility, if you think that way, then it is not impossible for the city to be successful with its programs addressing the garbage problem. ”

The Quezon City government has set a specific schedule of collection of garbage per district. There are scheduled days of collection for biodegradables, non-biodegradables, and recyclables. 

Rentoy said the number of garbage contractors or service providers depends on how large the area is. “For example, District 2 is big compared to other districts, so that it has three service providers.”

(To be concluded)