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Atienza was right to remind the public about the need to keep garbage at the minimum level during the holidays. Christmas may be a season of gift-giving and merrymaking but it is also notorious for inducing wild shopping sprees, conspicuous consumption, and trash production.
The mounting pile of junk in the streets during Christmas should remind the public and leaders as well about the seriousness of the garbage crisis in the Philippines. The problem is not just linked to holiday festivities or high population growth. It is aggravated by inadequate government programs and dwindling funds for waste management.
According to the environment agency, the Philippines produced 27,397 tons of garbage daily in 2003. Almost one-third of the garbage in the country came from Metro Manila. Production of industrial wastes and effluents is also causing water pollution. It is estimated that 2.41 million tons of hazardous materials are generated by more than 100,000 companies.
The garbage disposal system is very backward in urban centers, which clogs and pollutes canals and creeks. Flooding occurs in many areas of Metro Manila even during light rains because of uncollected garbage in the streets. This explains the persistent incidences of preventable diseases like bacterial infections, cholera, dysentery and dengue fever, which affect mainly children in urban poor communities.
The pathetic state of waste management in the country underscores the need for sound environment policies and laws. Yet the Philippines has legal instruments that cover garbage management. In fact, the fist law signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when she assumed the presidency in January 2001 was the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
This law obliges local governments to assume the main responsibility for disposing solid wastes through the program of "reduce, re-use and recycle." The law requires segregation of wastes, mandatory composting, recycling, a ban on disposable packaging materials, and the granting of incentives for the development of recycling markets and disposal of residual waste through the building of landfill facilities.
Like all good laws in the Philippines, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act is not implemented properly. According to green advocacy groups, only 700-1,000 communities (or less than two percent of the country's 42,000 villages) practice the "reduce, re-use and recycle" program.
Corruption and petty politicking are disrupting waste management programs. Local leaders from nearby provinces are feuding over the ownership and division of royalties in disposing of Metro Manila's garbage. One of the earlier corruption cases involving Arroyo was the controversial US$360 million incineration project with Australia-based Jancom Environmental Corporation. The project featured an overpriced dumping fee and guaranteed the sale of energy generated by the incinerated garbage to the government at a very high rate.
Recently, lawmakers exposed the distribution of obsolete medical incinerators in public hospitals which were purchased through a foreign loan.
Scientists insist that waste management should not be difficult in the Philippines. Because of its backward economy, more than half of the country's solid waste composition is made up of yard, wood and kitchen wastes. In short, they are organic, biodegradable and recyclable.
But at the same time, the Philippines is highly dependent on imported manufacturing goods. This kind of trading produces a lot of waste. The government even signed a deal which would legalize the dumping of Japan's toxic wastes in the Philippines.
The liberalization of the economy allowed the entry of multinational corporations, many of them focusing on resource extraction like mining. Without establishing modern waste management systems, the garbage generated from these economic activities will worsen urban congestion and the environmental woes of the country.
Implementing garbage laws and programs requires consistent funding. But government subsidies are inadequate to sustain delivery of services in communities. Waste management should not just be good laws. More importantly, it needs to be translated into public trash bins on every corner, garbage collection trucks, and the establishment of facilities for composting and recycling.
Public awareness and education campaigns are crucial. Many Filipinos still burn garbage in their backyards. Waste segregation should be practiced everywhere. There are residents who complain that they may segregate biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes dutifully but when their garbage is collected, all the trash bins are thrown in only one container.
The Philippine garbage problem is alarming because of its negative impact on human settlements and the natural environment. The good news is that more and more people are recognizing the gravity of the problem. The garbage crisis can be solved if laws and programs are executed correctly. Government financial support is needed to improve waste management. Lifestyles need to change, corruption should be eliminated and leaders should have the proper attitude in dealing with the problem. In short, political will is needed to solve the garbage problem.
This is possible. Why are garbage collection trucks visible during Christmas season? Why can't leaders guarantee this kind of performance throughout the year? If waste disposal remains problematic, children will continue to stalk and coerce pedestrians and fastfood customers into giving them empty plastic bottles which they will trade for a few pesos in a junk yard. Do we want children to handle our garbage?
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(Mong Palatino is a Filipino youth activist, news editor of Yehey!, a Philippine-based web portal, and a Global Voices correspondent. His Web site is www.mongpalatino.motime.com, and he can be reached at mongpalatino@gmail.com. ©Copyright Mong Palatino.)
