EDITORIAL - Waste management

You can’t stop nature’s wrath, but there are ways of minimizing the devastation that it causes. The damage caused by flooding, for one, can be significantly mitigated through various forms of human actions or interventions.

Major human interventions include the construction of  floodways or spillways and the installation of water pumps. There must be continuing efforts to ensure that natural drains such as creeks are not obstructed.

Flood control works best with citizen participation, through proper disposal of garbage. This critical component of flood control, however, seems to be an intractable problem all over the country. Every tropical cyclone or heavy monsoon rain sends tons of garbage washing up along the shores of Manila Bay, with big waves sometimes carrying the trash over to nearby roads.

Following the massive flooding all over Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon this week, officials have again pointed to garbage-clogged drains as major causes, particularly in areas such as the Quezon Boulevard underpass and Lagusnilad in the city of Manila. Floods again rendered the two underpasses – two of the busiest passageways in Metro Manila – impassable at the height of torrential rains dumped by the typhoon-enhanced southwest monsoon. People complained that it took a long time for this week’s floods to subside; this was also partly blamed on garbage-clogged drainage, apart from blocked waterways.

Filipinos have long been aware that clogged drains worsen flooding. Yet the problem keeps popping back up every wet season. Some quarters have wondered if being filthy is a cultural issue or a governance problem. Do people see nothing wrong with discarding used tissue, cigarette butts and even half-eaten sandwiches wherever they please, or do they do this because decent garbage bins can be found only in commercial complexes and open areas operated by the private sector? The answer could be a combination of both.

Local government units, with their much increased share in national revenues, should invest in the installation and proper maintenance of garbage bins in public areas. LGUs should also consider drastic improvements in waste management even in informal settlements. Are LGUs worried that if the slums are cleaned up, the informal settlers will never leave?

Garbage is not seen in shopping malls because there are trash receptacles everywhere, with the contents collected regularly by maintenance personnel who also sweep the floors regularly for litter. Tenants are required to put their garbage in bags for collection at specific hours. Similar schemes are followed in certain gated communities. While such efficiency in waste management may be challenging to apply in public areas, it’s a worthy objective that should not prove impossible to attain, even to a limited degree. Surely the government can do better in maintaining cleanliness in public areas.