Save money, implement waste management law, LGUs urged

MANILA, Philippines - Local government units (LGUs) have been asked to implement the provisions of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Law in order to create jobs for their constituents and save money.

In a recent hearing conducted by the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, Sen. Loren Legarda said many LGUs are implementing the law and have reaped its benefits.

Legarda said San Fernando City in Pampanga was able to generate 200 “green jobs,” including those who manage the material recovery facilities (MRFs).

A report by the Mother Earth Foundation showed that all of the city’s 35 barangays have their own MRFs, where waste materials are sorted for composting and recycling. 

Aside from generating jobs, Legarda said the city was able to save millions from sorting its trash. She said the city government used to spend P70 million to dump waste in a sanitary landfill in Tarlac.

But by implementing the provisions of RA 9003, the LGU now spends only P7 million. 

The senator said the city’s waste diversion rate is now at 55 percent, which showed that nearly half the waste generated is either recycled or composted instead of being taken to a landfill.