Jody Kliffer and Sean Tynan

Report Submitted to the Plaridel Municipal Government

in partial fulfillment of the requirements in PLAN 548H

Philippine Planning Studio Course, University of British Columbia

Recommendations for Solid Waste Management in Plaridel,

Bulacan, The Philippines

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents Pages 1-2

Executive Summary Page 3

Who We Are and Acknowledgements Page 4

Chapter I – Introduction

1.1 - Context Page 5

1.2 - Everything is connected: fuel, food, and waste Pages 5-8

Chapter II – Strategic Communication and Education

2.1 Introduction Pages 9-10

2.2 Existing Level of Education Page 10

2.3 Designing the Message: a Rough Guide Pages 11-13

2.4 Mediums for Communication Page 14

2.5 Strategic Communication: Suggestions for

Municipally Controlled Areas Pages 14-18

2.6 Strategic Communication: Addressing

Backyard Burning Page 18

Chapter III - Waste Reduction, Finance, and Budgeting

3.A.1 Introduction Page 19

3.A.2 Waste Characterization Page 19

3.A.3 Existing System Pages 19-20

3.B.1 ‘Polluter Pays’ Pages 20-21

3.B.2 Revenue Possibilities Under a Unit-Pricing System Pages 21-22

3.B.3 Waste Reduction Page 23

3.C.1 Enforcement in Waste Pricing Page 23

3.C.2 Reducing Plastics Page 24

3.C.3 Municipal Budget Pages 24-25

Chapter IV - Enforcement 4.1 Introduction Page 26

4.2 Current Situation Page 26-27

4.3 Recommendations Pages 27-29

Chapter V - Technical Aspects of Waste Processing, Storage

And Collection

5.A.1 Introduction Pages 30-31

5.A.2 Findings and Observations Pages 31-33

5.A.3 Recommendations for MRF Development Pages 33-35

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5.B.1 Household Storage Pages 35-36

5.B.2 Recommendations: Storage Pages 36-37

5.B.3 Pickup and Transport: Vehicle Technology Pages 37-38

5.B4. Private Sector Involvement in SWM Page 38

5.B.5 Recommendations Pages 39-41

5.B.6 Long-term Municipal Waste Transport

Requirements Page 41-42

Chapter VI - Conclusion Pages 43-44

References Pages 45-46

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Executive Summary

The objective of this paper is to assist the municipality of Plaridel in further developing

its solid waste management system. Plaridel’s short and medium term goals involve

transitioning to a more decentralized solid waste management system and decreasing the

volume of residual waste through materials recovery facilities (MRFs). These goals are

ultimately tied to its vision of transitioning the municipality into an agro-industrial city in

the next few years. This document recommends focusing on a comprehensive, multi-

pronged approach utilizing strategic communication (oriented toward lasting behavioral

change), economic incentives (pricing of waste based on its disposal costs) and

enforcement in order to meet these goals.

The paper recommends, foremost, a renewed public education campaign that emphasizes

a fundamental change in the way Plaridelenos regard waste. Much of the existing

educational material has focused on “how” to segregate or compost, but relatively little

has focused on the question of “why”. The most successful barangays are those that have

committed the most effort to public education, especially through direct dialogue.

Therefore, methods suggested at the barangay level focus on education through door-to-

door discussions. At the municipal level, we recommend greatly renewed visibility of

SWM as a priority, including more visible public bins, information officers in public

places, and an intensification of the IEC with emphasis on why SWM is important

instead of how it can be done.

Economic and regulatory methods of waste reduction are premised on a “polluter pays”

principle. In most cases this idea is more politically palatable than other forms of

regulation as it tends to tax the largest consumers the most. Measures suggested in the

report include the pricing of waste, especially residual waste. Plastic bags are a particular

problem, and this paper recommends that over the medium and long-term, regulatory

measures are taken to tax the distribution of plastic bags and to encourage alternate,

reusable bag-types.

Enforcement does not appear to be a priority in Plaridel. However, enforcement is

fundamental to program success, as it demonstrates political will, increases compliance,

and where financial penalties are involved, provides a source of revenue. We therefore

recommend increasing policing powers at the municipal and barangay levels, and

creating revenue-generating opportunities through fines and ticketing. Such a program

should only begin after the renewed strategic communication and public education

campaign is well underway, or it will likely engender resentment.

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Who We Are

This report was prepared by two members of a Canadian delegation of university students

who visited Plaridel from July 12th

to August 15th

, 2008. As a group, we were granted the

opportunity to act as “volunteer consultants” to the Municipality of Plaridel, tasked with

evaluating and helping further the development of solid waste management (SWM)

policy at the municipal and barangay levels.

Our presence does not imply that Plaridel is failing to do a good job in managing their

solid waste. Indeed, Plaridel is far ahead of most municipalities in Bulacan Province, as

evidenced by their increasingly large budget commitment to SWM, their progress in

sustainably closing the old dumpsite, and the creation of the municipal Materials

Recovery Facility (MRF). However, as outsiders we are well situated to look objectively

at Plaridel’s SWM policies and evaluate them in relation to best practices in other parts of

the Philippines and abroad. We hope that our recommendations will be useful to the

barangays and to the municipality during their transition to an effective, low-cost SWM

system.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank all those who have so kindly given us their time and vital information.

Firstly, thank you to Mayor Vistan for inviting us to Plaridel; to Mr. Rivero for taking so

much time to help us; and to our translators for providing us with insight and

understanding. Thank you also to Father Dennis and St. James Parish for hosting and

feeding us. Of course, we could not have completed any research without those who

allowed us to interview them: municipal staff, Barangay Captains, and key informants too

numerous to name. Finally, thank you to Dr. Nora Angeles, who organized this project,

provided valuable insight and direction, and had the vision to bring us together.

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Chapter I: Introduction

1.1 Context

The past couple of decades have seen a significant rise in environmental awareness in

numerous communities from around the world. Local, regional and federal governments

have joined the global sustainability discourse in addressing their environmental concerns

as the global ecosystem steadily edges toward a state of irreversible catastrophe. The

municipal government of Plaridel, Bulacan, is one among many communities that has

decided to take an active stance in mitigating their own impact on the environment. More

than any other municipality in the province of Bulacan, Plaridel has made strong efforts

towards building a more sustainable society.

One such measure has been the creation of the municipal Materials Recovery Facility

(MRF). This facility is responsible for the composting of municipal bio-waste into

organic fertilizer, which is then sold at a subsidized rate to local farmers. The

municipality has already begun an ambitious program that will include the household

pickup of biodegradable waste from the entire community and deliver it to either the

municipal or a barangay MRF before the start of 2009. This is a commendable goal and a

big step for the community in advancing their level of sustainable practices.

As part of this plan, the town has begun the sanitary closure of the current municipal

dumpsite (or “old dumpsite”, as it will be referred to in this report), set to be closed by

the early part of 2009. At such a time, each barangay will be responsible for its own

waste collection. The municipality, however, has expressed concern that at the current

rate of preparation, very few of the 19 barangays in Plaridel will be able to manage their

own solid waste by late December.1

We begin this document with an outline of the key concepts which underlie the report

and many of our recommendations.

1.2 Everything is Connected: Fuel, Food, and Waste

Filipinos are well aware of the increasingly prominent garbage problem in their country.

As a result of various major events, such as the closure of several dumpsites near Metro

Manila in recent years and the garbage-slide in Payatas in 1992, attention to waste

management issues has increased.

The problem of waste is also tied to the global fuel and food crises. Because chemical

fertilizers are petroleum by-products, the price of such fertilizers will continue to increase

in tandem with soaring oil prices. The clear need for fertilizers made from food waste,

which is taken to landfills in most urban areas, has been outlined by the national

government under R.A. 9003.

It is important to note that the food and fuel crises are also intimately linked to the global

free-market, consumerist economy. Within this system, the flow of waste is seen in very

simple terms: production consumption disposal. For example, let us look at the cost

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of two Duracell batteries selling for 250 pesos.1 These batteries may be purchased from

Waltermart and taken home, placed in a radio, and used for one month. When the

batteries are empty, they become waste and are thrown in the garbage. The waste is taken

to the dumpsite for disposal and the problem is assumed to be solved. In reality, however,

the true environmental and social costs of a product are often hidden at point of purchase.

The battery will sit indefinitely in a landfill while gradually leeching toxins (like

mercury) into the groundwater; water which could later be used for farming and thus

potentially cause damage to human health. But these costs are invisible in the market

price of the battery at point of sale. By contrast, rechargeable batteries could be used

many times, and the materials happen to be much more profitable to recycle. If market

prices reflected all of the costs (and benefits) of a product, rechargeable batteries would

be cheaper than non-rechargeable batteries. As it is now, however, non-rechargeable

batteries are cheaper.

Furthermore, the relationship between the products we consume and the fuel invested in

their production, consumption and disposal is often unmentioned in environmental

assessments. The fuel used in mining the metal for the battery given in the example above

is absent in its market price. Likewise, the oil needed in creating the chemicals, in

transporting the battery from China to Plaridel; in a Plarideleno’s tricycle ride to

Waltermart to purchase the battery- all of this oil is indefinitely lost as an energy source

and becomes an immediate environmental hazard.

Plaridel’s stated goal vis-a-vis its waste management policies is to divert 80-90% of

waste from the dumpsite to the MRF.2 To achieve this, a better model to conceptualize

waste flows in society and address the total ecological impacts of the products we

consume is much needed. As we near the end of peak oil supply, the importance of an

economy focused on recycling, composting and reuse, instead of simple disposal, is

categorically imperative. Plaridel, the Philippines, and indeed the world, will all

eventually be forced to move from an economy of waste to an economy of zero waste:

Production Consumption Recycling/Composting Production. In other words, the

world will have to move from a model of one-directional consumption flows, to a model

characterized by circularity (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Circular Waste Flows

Although this model serves to illustrate the planned policy transition at a broad level, it

provides little instruction for Plaridel and includes none of the stakeholders. A more

1 This is a hypothetical price.

Production

Consumption

(waste generation)

Recycling/

Composting

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comprehensive model that incorporates the different stakeholders and waste flow patterns

in society, such as the one offered in Figure 2, would be more helpful in elucidating how

materials flow through the system.

Figure 2: Current Waste Flows in Plaridel

Business

Production

Rural Household

Business

Urban Household

Waste Generation

Junkshops

Backyard

disposal

and composting

Barangay

Municipal

Collection & Transport

Municipal MRF

Recycling/Composting

Waste Pickers

Plaridel Dumpsite

Final Disposal

The categories in the top row of Figure 2 refer to the stages of waste flow. The green

arrows refer to recycled or reused products, while black arrows refer to the most common

direction in which waste moves to subsequent stages.

By contrast, Figure 3 (below) represents the intended medium and long-term waste flows

in Plaridel. In this version, all waste first moves from households and businesses, to the

barangays, and then to the barangay MRFs. Much of it directly reenters the

recycling/composting stream, while some moves to the municipal MRF. Less than 10%

of the waste will become residual waste at the planned sanitary landfill. One challenge

with this model is where waste pickers and junkshop owners will fit, if at all, as the

change in the system will affect their livelihoods.

Figure 3: Future Waste Flows in Plaridel

Business

Production

Rural Household

Urban Households

& Businesses

Waste Generation

waste pickers?

Junkshops

Barangay

Collection & Transport

Waste-Pickers?

Barangay MRF Municipal MRF

Recycling/Composting

Sanitary Landfill

Final Disposal

Around

60%

residual

Recycling,

Reuse, Reclamation

Residual Waste

<10%

Recycling,

Reuse, Reclamation

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It is the goal of the current municipal government of Plaridel to move from a waste flow

pattern depicted in Figure 2, to one that better resembles the model in Figure 3. The

purpose of this report is to offer recommendations toward this end. As such, the analysis

and recommendations offered here are made to help in preparing for the dumpsite

closure, to enhance the current system of SWM services, and to increase public

participation with segregation-at-source.

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Chapter II: Strategic Communication and Public Education

2.1 Introduction

This chapter deals with how value, attitudinal and behavioral change can occur through

public education using strategic public communication, which remains as one of the key

pillars for the success of SWM and its key components, particularly at-source

segregation.

Separation-at-source is one of the most important components of any SWM program. In

order to work properly, segregation-at-source requires every household to participate;

changing their waste disposal habits that have been practiced for a lifetime. Furthermore,

if public support for SWM is lacking, politicians (such as barangay officials) fear the loss

of votes, which constrains action and innovation. Where negative or indifferent attitudes

are present, behavioral changes will be harder to stimulate. The goal of public education

in SWM must therefore be to change not only the behavior itself, but also the attitudes

and values which govern that behavior. This requires that the Municipality and barangays

engage in effective “strategic communication”, which is defined loosely as

communication designed to alter behavior.

Action (behavior) of the public to support SWM, such as separation-at-source, depends

on two factors: intention and barriers.3

Intention is affected by underlying environmental attitudes, moral attitudes, sense

of community/concern for neighbors in other barangays, and understanding of the

process of proper SWM.

Barriers which may nullify intention include required time, effort, or

inconvenience; misinformed perceptions about time, effort or inconvenience,

perceived lack of effectiveness of individual action, forgetfulness, or ignorance.

Plaridel’s Strategic Communication Campaign must change the intentions and eliminate

the barriers identified above. This campaign must bring about a paradigmatic shift in the

way people view their relationship to waste, and to carefully examine how society’s

values regarding waste serve or hinder the public good. The end-goal in this scenario is to

create a culture of waste-management.4 By this we mean that cultural values and beliefs,

and the resulting actions and behaviors they engender, should eventually become self-

enforcing. For example, in the same way wearing dirty shoes into another’s home would

be considered inconsiderate and rude, so should littering on the street. Improper waste

management should not only be known cognitively as incorrect, but instinctively felt as a

wrongful action. Over the long run, this would result in waste management becoming

self-policing.

In Canada, for example, littering is now so ingrained into national consciousness as a

wrongful action, that enforcement is unnecessary; people police each other. If a child

throws a piece of garbage on the street, there is a good chance that his/her friend will be

the first person to tell him/her that it is wrong to do so. Police are virtually no longer

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Box 1: Strategic Communication must be

Comprehensive

In one barangay, repeated efforts at encouraging

segregation-at-source have worked only briefly. The

major education strategy was discussion at Barangay

Hall meetings and rewards, such as cans of tuna for

citizens who segregate their waste. Within a few

weeks, however, citizens reverted to their original

behavior. We believe this to have resulted from two

problems. The first was the focus on rewards over

changes in attitude. While rewards can be an effective

tool, in many cases when the reward stops the

behavior reverts back to its old form.

The second issue was a lack of penalties, either social

(self-policing), economic, or legal.

needed for this particular duty. To achieve this level of cultural awareness in Canada

required an intense and sustained public education campaign, just as it will require in

Plaridel. The objective, however, should not only be seen as sharing facts or knowledge,

but as communication designed to fundamentally alter the community’s attitude and

behavior.

This section will review some of the measures taken by the municipality and various

barangays to encourage the community to practice proper waste segregation and disposal.

We will identify some of the main community members who have been or could be

effective in reaching different elements of the population. We will then offer some

recommendations for further activities that could entice a larger audience to comply with

extant solid waste disposal ordinances.

2.2 Existing Level of Education

If public education around SWM were to be assessed based only on the total number of

people aware that a program exists, there is little doubt that the system would score well.

Most citizens we spoke to, demonstrated some level of awareness regarding the

municipality’s SWM campaign, many stating that they had received the educational

pamphlets distributed by the government.

However, this knowledge has not produced lasting behavioral change for the majority of

the population. Garbage is still often disposed of informally (in streams, fields, streets,

etc.); segregation at source is low in most areas; and the burning of waste continues to be

a significant problem. This implies that Plaridelenos are not internalizing the behavioral

changes advocated by the IEC campaigning. That is, the education program has spread

the knowledge of waste management issues, but has failed to produce informed

behavioral change.

Unfortunately, without detailed

surveys of public awareness, the level

of knowledge within the public and

the effectiveness of the IEC campaign

cannot be accurately measured.

There are already a variety of methods

for public education already employed

in Plaridel, such as:

Community cleanups

Teachers Conferences and

parent-teacher Conferences

IEC Pamphlets

Waste Collectors available to

answer questions from public

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Without extensive research, the ability to target appropriate audiences with educational

messages and adequately gauge their effectiveness is extremely limited. Our first

recommendation is therefore to better understand the base-characteristics of existing

levels of public awareness. This could be accomplished through a qualitative survey,

ideally through individual or group interviews.

2.3 Designing the Message: a Rough Guide

Experience in a variety of countries has shown that the two most important questions for

residents are:

Where has it been (successfully) done?

What will it cost me/us?5

Before identifying other pertinent needs in implementing a new program, these questions

must be addressed. Although answering these questions may be considered of primary

importance, there are other elements to message design that also need to be given close

consideration.

Successful Message Design programs involve a variety of factors, including:6

1) The goal of the message. That is, whether it is designed to raise awareness,

educate the public or provide instructional information.

2) The content of the message to be conveyed. Will it be a change in service

delivery? Penalties or rewards for segregating at source?

3) The target group. To be effective, campaigns must reach and be tailored to the

specific needs a variety of groups, including children, women, religious groups,

NGOs, and different income brackets (especially the poor).

4) The timing for release of information is particularly important. If there is too

much of a gap between education and actual changes in service or infrastructure,

people will forget. For example, if a new pickup day for bio-waste is planned, it

should not be announced six months in advance. One or two weeks would be

sufficient.

5) The stakeholders who are involved in the campaign (especially those doing the

outreach) must be accounted for.

6) The specific methods to be employed. Examples will be given below.

In most cases, general awareness does not actually provide lasting change in behavior.

Instead, the information most likely to have an impact is that which is evaluated

consciously by the target group.7 Most often this type of evaluation occurs through open

dialogue, such as in door-to-door campaigns where people are engaged discursively in

pertinent issues.

One further recommendation is to take a holistic approach in incorporating the roles and

responsibilities of all actors from diverse elements of the community, including

households, small enterprises, waste pickers, private entrepreneurs, universities,

politicians, and barangays. Viewing a problem from a multi-stakeholder perspective can

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Box 2: Best Practices: Leading by Example

“The most powerful message is given

when the leaders are committed to setting

an example: depositing refuse in

containers; cleansing public places;

participating in community clean-ups;

keeping the street in front of their

dwellings clean and litter free; paying their

collection bills on time and without

complaint, etc. In Cebu city, local leaders

pay visits to waste collectors and to

volunteers who form the inspection

committee for dump sites.”

Source: Muller and Hoffman (2001).

produce a more comprehensive solution that enhances the inclusivity of its approach.

Failure to do so, on the other hand, could result in the accidental isolation of a particular

sector of society and compromise the effectiveness of the overall program.

We also recommend that Plaridel seek a specialist in Strategic Communication. In

attending a conference on Strategic Communication at Atteneo University, we were told

that students graduating from the Department of Communication Studies have a

community service component to their final year of study. We feel this is a good

opportunity for the Municipality of Plaridel to access this knowledge base and seek their

professional assistance (unpaid or paid, depending on budget availability). The

Department of Communication at Ateneo University may offer credits to students for

helping the Municipality of Plaridel create an effective message design for their SWM

public information campaign. Such possibilities should be explored.

Who is an Educator?

When we think of educators, we often envision those with official designations, like

teachers, principals, professors and college deans. However, everybody in society plays

the role of an educator at times. Recognizing who the more influential informal (or non-

conventional) educators are, and the role they play in community education, is essential

for an effective IEC campaign. A list of such educators might include Barangay Hall

staff, Barangay Tanod, street sweepers, and Mother Leaders, whose door-to-door work

provides perfect opportunities for segregation-at-source education), religious leaders, and

municipal employees (waste collectors, police, parents, etc).

Politicians are important opinion leaders in society and therefore carry a high degree of

influence in their communities. When behavioral change is lobbied by a government for

its citizens, the active members of the government should be the first to demonstrate that

change. This includes municipal areas such as the Municipal Hall, which in the case of

SWM, should have the most visible public demonstration projects that clearly advertise

proper separation-at-source practices. Currently the Municipal Hall has clearly

demarcated bins, but we observed that segregation there is seldom practiced. Leadership,

however, is best done through example (see Box 2).

Above all we must educate the official educators.

They must be effective communicators and have

sufficient knowledge of the issues they are

discussing. This implies the need for workshops

and training, including meetings to elucidate the

best strategies and define the precise objectives.

While a municipal representative would have to

devote time for training, the responsibility for

door-to-door education would fall to the

barangay or barangay representatives. For

example, at the barangay level we would

recommend the organization of conferences and

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Box 3: Case Study in Batangas Batangas began One Awareness Campaign

with the stated goal of “stimulating and

socializing the idea of long-term SWM

planning”. The strategy used was an inter-

Barangay competition.

Criteria used were:

Formation of an ISWM committee.

Preparation of a plan for SWM.

Implementing the SWM plan.

The third criterion was rated the most highly.

Source: Anschutz and Lapid, (2004).

workshops for barangay officials, Inter-barangay Tanod, Inter-barangay Mother Leaders,

and door-to-door Health Workers.

Likewise, at the municipal level we would recommend workshops for waste collectors

(who already disseminate such information), religious leaders and municipal employees.

Recommendations for Message Design in Educating the General Public

The public must specifically be convinced that proper waste management will directly

benefit them in many ways.8 This requires education on the many costs to society of

improper waste management, including:

Health impacts, such as lice, attracting rodents and insect vectors

Aesthetic impacts, including foul odors and litter in public spaces

Economic impacts, including:

o fees for street cleaning and community cleanups

o decreased desirability as a place to live, which can depress real estate

prices and increase out-migration from neighborhoods

o loss of productivity due to negative health impacts

o tourism impacts: simply put, a clean city is more attractive than a dirty one

One study indicates a link between perceived recycling/composting facilities and the

level of willingness to segregate-at-source.9 Specifically, the more the public understands

about the available facilities, profitability, and functionality of the MRF, the more likely

it is that they will change their attitudes and behavior. This implies that the municipality

should continue efforts to expand awareness of the MRF.

One method to increase and maintain public awareness is to include progress reports in

local newspapers and in municipal and barangay bulletins. These reports could

summarize each barangays performance to date as part of a regional competition,

awarding points for performance in each predetermined category as set out by the

municipal government. Points could be awarded for such things as:

Functioning MRF

Percentage of total fertilizer used that is organic (one point for every 10%)

Designated space for MRF (fewer points than having a functioning one)

Percentage of total waste that is non-bio (one point per every 10%)

Street cleaning initiatives (point for every group in a barangay each time it cleans

an area of the city)

Awards for best performing barangays

could be given on a monthly or bi-monthly

basis. Awards could be in the form of cash,

honorary certificates, credit toward a

predetermined prize (perhaps each monthly

winner would be awarded 10 points, but the

price of a new dump truck, for example,

would be worth 100 points), etc. By

15

periodically publicizing the competition in local news papers (and in the Municipal and

Barangay Halls), the public could be more active participants in making their

communities green. The current awards offered by the municipality for completing an

MRF, although commendable, only involve the leadership of each barangay.

2.4 Best Practices: Mediums for Communication

The following are examples from other developing countries of various ways that SWM

awareness has been successfully raised in the local community:

Competition

- Local TV station produced the best play on environmental sanitation on TV

- Radio song writing contests on the theme of environmental sanitation

Posters

- Posters on buses or collection carts, tricycles and jeepneys

Performances

- Skits (community groups)

- Puppet shows

Box 4: Case Studies in Strategic Communication

In Tingoloy, The Philippines, when compliance with SWM policies was still low after

conducting several public meetings, members of the Municipal Waste Management

Council started a door-to-door campaign to raise awareness of the need for

environmental cleanliness.

Participation can be encouraged by offering different incentive measures. These can

vary from competitions offering prizes (rewards for collection of recyclables, for

example), music festivals, to the strategic use of the media.

In Belo Horizonte, Brazil, an annual waste pickers' carnival parade is held where the

waste pickers create costumes out of recycled waste materials

In Bangalore, India, professional performers put on street theatre in order to raise

awareness among the town's citizens to the need for waste management and their

participation in the household waste collection service

In Sao Paulo, Brazil, the publication of a monthly magazine, special radio and

television programs, as well as samba groups, are used to disseminate information

about the municipality's source-separation program.

Volunteer community health workers, local politicians, or even students who go door-

to-door in the neighborhood to talk about the importance of SWM has proven to be an

effective means of insisting behavioral change

Source: Muller and Hofmann, (2001).

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Photo 1: Waste Heap Outside Public Market

2.5 Strategic Communication: Suggestions for Municipally Controlled Areas

Demonstration is a big part of a comprehensive strategic communications program.

Public employees in publicly owned areas, whether from the municipal, barangay, or

national level, provide excellent spaces for strategic communication. In this section we

explore the feasibility of some of these areas as avenues for communication and learning.

Schools as Avenues for Strategic Communication

SWM is incorporated into several subjects at the elementary and high school levels in

Plaridel (and nationally). In our visits to elementary schools we found very sophisticated

urban gardening programs that rivaled those commonly found in developed countries,

like Canada. Given the strength of such education, the children of these schools could be

a valuable resource in helping further public education. Barangay Poblacion, for example,

staged a march to raise awareness about SWM and segregation-at-source in which school

children were key participants. This march was described to us as being extremely

successful in spreading knowledge and mobilizing support.10

Another interesting measure taken in Plaridel within the Department of Education

involved a day where teachers were encouraged to avoid using plastic bags to bring their

lunch to work. For each day this program was implemented, 261 bags were saved (one

for each employee). Over a year, this many bags would weigh around 300 kilograms.

Even with this many staff members, public areas undertaking such programs could

directly impact the bags entering the waste stream. Such programs should be applied to

other municipal areas.

A third measure being taken is a joint initiative between MENRO and the Department of

Education. They are planning to have school children paint SWM-related murals on the

walls at the municipal MRF. This is another good method for raising awareness. As such,

we would recommend involving children in more aspects of community-wide campaigns

on environmental issues. For example, holding more school competitions at the

municipal level around themes of environmental sustainability would help engage more

youth in the process of becoming a greener society. Municipal competitions could

include playwriting contests on the theme of urban sanitation, or a creative design contest

for creating a municipal SWM emblem or logo that would be used as the official SWM

symbol for Plaridel. Expanding these interfaces between SWM and public education is

one of the most important measures which can be taken, as it will ensure that future

generations will have a better understanding of SWM.

17

The Public Market: Findings and Observations

The Plaridel Public Market is one space over which the municipality can exert great

influence. The space is unique in its ability to serve two distinct functions in promoting

sustainable solid waste practices: first as a space for experimentation with innovative

waste reduction techniques. Second, and perhaps more importantly, it is a visible place

for public demonstration of segregation-at-source.

Currently the pile of bio-waste outside the market (Photo 1) not only looks disorderly, but

clearly hurts the public demonstration of proper waste disposal by perpetuating the

message that waste is something which can be left on the sidewalk. Although we are

cognizant that the public market has a restricted budget, it should be regarded as an

extremely important space for public education and strategic communication projects.

Recommendations for the Public Market

Clearly segregated bins would be a minimal first step to promote proper public

demonstration. However, a previous project of this type failed, according to the Market

Master, because people did not segregate their waste inside the market.11

The segregated

bins were removed shortly thereafter.

Important changes could include increased visibility of segregated bins, ideally color-

coded, signed in English and Tagalog, and with plasticized or waxed examples of what

can go inside the bins placed overtop of each. As described above, the timing of such

measures is extremely important. Their release should coincide with a larger, more

comprehensive public education campaign. A temporary information officer should be

stationed near the bins to inform people as to the correct methods of segregation, and why

it is important. This could also be a part of the larger IEC campaign.

Particular attention to special bio-degradable bin design is also important. The current

pile-approach to SWM at the market is visually unpleasant, and is not conducive to

attracting consumers to the market. As mentioned, the aesthetically unpleasing aspect of

open waste disposal in the market also reinforces negative associations attributed to

garbage. This may contribute to the negative

attitudes of citizens regarding barangay MRFs, as

it may be assumed that these spaces will be

characterized by equally offensive sights, odors

and pests. An air-tight bin for bio-waste that

affectively cuts smells and pests (including

insects) seems necessary for making the public

market a nicer place.

Photo 1: Waste Heap Outside the Public

Market

18

In selecting a bin-type several factors are important:

What is the expected volume of garbage between pickups?

What space/s are available for the bin?

What is the type of waste? (Does it smell? Does it attract pests?)

What other benefits would this bin-type or design provide? (Especially

educational)

Which bin is most cost-effective, given the other objectives?

Given the volume of waste, bio-bins could come in several forms, but would have to be

either numerous or large enough to hold a sufficient volume of garbage. One large-

volume, low-cost container used in many developing countries is a steel drum, which

generally has a capacity of 200 liters. Since the biodegradable waste area behind the

market is covered, rust problems with a steel drum should be minimal, especially if bags

are placed within the bins.

The low cost of these bins would be advantageous as well, and these are readily

available. One problem with such drums is the weight: a full bin could seriously injure

municipal staff in charge of loading the waste onto a truck. Unloading the bins with a

shovel would be labor intensive and require the truck to wait for long periods of time.

Conversely, plastic bins would be lighter, but more expensive as it may require custom

designing/molding and would be more easily stolen.

A third possibility would be to provide some sort of a trailer-based system where bins are

permanently placed on a trailer which can be towed by a garbage truck or motorcycle.

This would have the added benefit of allowing the trailer to be filled during the day and

taken away at night to help reduce the number of trucks in daily traffic jams.12

We recommend that the public market, GSO, and MENRO be tasked with finding a

suitable, low-cost bin design which, ideally, would be made locally and functional for the

problems described above.

One suggestion from a Plarideleno was to re-institute paper bags for food purchased at

the public market.13

These bags could be clearly labeled as recyclable, but would also be

biodegradable. This would not only provide waste-savings for all the products sold

through the public market, but it could also be a project that stimulates awareness of the

importance of SWM to the municipality. We strongly recommend that the market explore

the costs which would be involved in such a program. Symbols on such packaging should

be in line with the branding of the market as a “green” place.

Solid Waste Management in the Municipal Hall

Through the course of several visits to the Municipal Hall, we were able to informally

monitor the waste disposal habits of city employees. We found that the municipal staff is

generally not segregating their garbage. This draws into question the municipality’s

commitment to waste segregation if they are failing to uphold their own policies.

However, this also provides an excellent opportunity. The municipality provides an

19

excellent test-bed for innovative projects. City employees are capable, for example, of

being survey respondents, of fine-tuning suggested policies, and most importantly, of

being the source of innovative ideas.

Even projects that do not work could involve documenting the reasons why they were not

successful. Do pledges for SWM work? For how long? Why do they fail? How

noticeable is the difference between a green and a brown garbage bin? Does it clearly

communicate the idea of segregation for someone who is busy at work? What arguments

do municipal staff find most persuasive? A specific experiment to include would be

measures such as a day to bring food only in compostable or recyclable materials, such as

bamboo or coconut fiber bags, or banana leaves for wrapping. Exploring the ways in

which the Municipal Hall can be made a zero waste facility could provide excellent

information for policy-making.

Solid Waste Management in Barangay Halls

Barangay Halls should also be demonstration areas for SWM programs. Many of the

halls we visited had segregated bins, but segregation was not being followed and they

were filled with mixed waste. The Barangay Halls should be the first point of strategic

communication, as a space for both media (posters) and demonstrative projects, such as

clearly segregated bins. Enforcement should begin with the Barangay Hall employees.

For example, those who are caught not segregating properly would be forced to collect

garbage off the street for thirty minutes, or donate 30 pesos to the treasury, etc. This

would force political leaders to be involved in the spaces they control, which builds faith

in the system and is essential for segregation to work well in the community.

2.6 Strategic Communication: Addressing Backyard Burning

The burning of waste continues to be an issue of concern within the municipality. It is a

common sight to see waste being burned in backyards throughout Plaridel, and

sometimes this includes the burning of plastics. From what we were able to deduce from

our time in Plaridel, this activity goes entirely unpunished. There are no incentives for

people to cease burning their waste that are commonly practiced.

The primary objective of a public education of SWM is to alter behavior of the citizens to

comply with SWM. This requires several sub-objectives, including raising awareness of

the importance of recycling, the costs of the program, and methods of reducing waste and

helping SWM.

It is important to emphasize the following:

Health consequences, including lung-cancer, high rates of child-asthma, etc. This

information would be best provided by mother leaders and door-to-door health

checkups

The benefits of using the leaves as compost for the mango trees;

20

The need for leaves in municipal MRF, which will make superior organic

fertilizer and which helps to create jobs at the Municipal and Barangay level;

This should be non-conflicting so as not to create resentment. Further steps should

include, in stages:

A special effort for pickup of leaves, including door-to-door visits and requests

for piles of leaves in the backyard.

A restatement of the penalties followed closely by actual enforcement by PNP and

by Tanods, including threats of fines.

And, finally, actual fines, especially to repeat violators.

Above all, the holistic, comprehensive, multi-pronged approaches to strategic

communication are most likely to be effective.

21

Chapter III: Waste Reduction and Financial Incentives

3.A Waste Reduction through Waste Pricing: An Introduction

As described in the previous chapter, changing the behavior of Plaridelenos towards

SWM is extremely challenging and requires a variety of approaches. Top-down

regulation of prices is often politically unpopular and challenging to implement.

However, increasingly government policies are able to implement measures which fall

under the rubric of the “polluter pays” principles. This idea, simply put, is that those who

pollute the most should pay the most. This section of the paper examines financing

possibilities for the SWM program which fall into two overlapping categories: measures

which are meant to change behavior by reducing waste, and measures which are designed

to make the system self-financing under the polluter pays principle.

3.A.1 Waste Characterization

Solid waste in Plaridel falls into three main categories:

biodegradable, recyclable and residual. The composition of

this waste is roughly 60% organic, 15% recyclable and 25%

residual.14

The vast majority of the residual waste (roughly

90%) is composed of plastics, of which plastic bags are the

most common item.15

At junk shops in Plaridel, plastics currently fetch approximately $0.14 per kilo. Although

modest, this is a vital part of the incomes of both junkshop owners and waste pickers. It

also ensures that a much higher amount of plastics will be recycled than if there were no

price awarded for recycling plastic.

Undeniably, recycling plastics is much preferred to disposing of them in landfills. But

recycling only delays the inevitability of plastics ending up in landfill areas. Even plastics

that have been successfully recycled once or twice will end up in a landfill eventually.

This is because plastics cannot truly be recycled, but instead they must be “downcycled”

into a lower grade of plastics. The chemistry of plastics is such that it can be

“downcycled” a maximum of 6 times before it becomes unusable. Plastic bags, however,

are near the bottom rung, and can therefore only be downcycled three times.16

Furthermore, plastics that are soiled or extremely dirty cannot be downcycled at all and

go directly to the landfill, as it is too labor intensive to separate out dirty plastics, clean

and then recycle them. As such, reducing the production and consumption of plastics

should be prioritized over recycling. This section will look at methods to reduce the

volume of residual waste and simultaneously increase separation at source.

3.A.2 Existing System

Under the current system, charges for solid waste management are levied on a flat rate

basis, discriminating only by type of establishment. Businesses, for example, are charged

$730 Php17

a year by the Municipality regardless of amount or type of waste. Houses

22

should be charged $300 Php per dwelling (also without consideration of type of waste),

but in fact pay nothing. Due to public outcry, the government was forced to discontinue

the levy of waste disposal fees on individual households.18

This is an estimated loss of

$6,000,000 Php a year, which is roughly 1.5 times more than the total SWM budget for

the current fiscal year.19

This represents a significant loss of financing in a system that is

currently running on a deficit.

Table 1: 2008 Solid Waste Budget for Plaridel

Column1 Total

Number Charge per

Unit Total Remittances estimated for

2008

Businesses* 2,054 730 1,500,000

Households 20,000 300 0

Fertilizer Sales 555 180 100,000

Fines 0 0 0

total: 1,600,000 (Source: Municipal Budget Officer, Aug 6th. All figures in Filipino pesos.)

(*Note: Number of businesses is based on the amount of remittances and is therefore only an estimate.)

When faced with continued resistance by the populace to pay disposal fees, other

municipalities in the Philippines have found creative ways of building the cost of solid

waste management into municipal taxes. For example, some have incorporated the price

for SWM into other services provided by the municipal government, such as their electric

or energy bills.20

The Municipality of Plaridel could likewise explore the option of

incorporating waste disposal tax into other services provided by the government.

3.B. Alternative Systems: Some Basic Principles

3.B.1 ‘Polluter Pays’

Economic and/or population growth both tend to increase the amount of waste produced

by society. The current city plan for Plaridel expects both the population and economy to

grow over the next 10 years, which will most likely result in an increase in the amount of

waste produced. This should be taken into consideration when planning a pricing strategy

for solid waste management. Such a strategy should prioritize the reduction of non-bio

waste to protect the health and welfare of the people and environment of Plaridel.

There are many SWM strategies practiced around the world that incorporate into their

pricing schemes such factors as type of waste, volume, distance to landfill, frequency of

service, etc. These strategies attempt to internalize the long-term environmental and

health impacts of solid waste disposal into their pricing, while simultaneously

encouraging people to practice sustainable forms of waste disposal, like composting and

recycling.

One method for pricing garbage is to tally the number bags at each house on the days for

non-bio pick-up and issue a monthly bill accordingly. However, this system may be too

burdensome for garbage collectors in Plaridel and thus become ineffective. It would be

more advantageous for the municipality to employ a more time and cost effective system.

23

A second method involves pricing waste based on type. Pricing bio and non-bio waste

differently is the most common and likely the fairest way to price garbage. One study

conducted in Olongapo, the Philippines, found that pricing non-bio waste higher than bio-

waste had the desired result of reducing the overall amount of residual waste being sent

to the dumpsite21

. In this case study, the researchers provided the community with color-

coded bags designated for both bio and non-bio disposal, making the price of disposal for

non-bio waste greater than for bio-waste. Because pick-up in this community was on the

same day, residents had to purchase separate bags for bio and non-bio waste (non-bio

bags being more expensive). In doing this, the city more effectively aligned the cost of

the SWM system with those who pollute the most.

Unlike most municipalities in the Philippines, Plaridel already has a separate pick-up

schedule for bio and non-bio waste. Pricing strategies corresponding to each type of

waste could be applied to help reduce non-bio waste and recapture some of the

operational costs of their SWM system. Although citizens of Plaridel protested the tax

levied per household for waste disposal, they may be more receptive to the idea of each

household paying only for the amount of residual waste they produce.

An effective method to do this is to build the price of non-bio disposal into the price of

mandated garbage bags. The study in Olongapo found that a bag-pricing system resulted

in a “24 percent reduction in the household production of non-recyclable wastes and

generated an annual disposal cost saving of Php 3.1 million” in a municipality of roughly

30,000 people.22

The authors also note an associated savings in welfare gains due to the

reduction of health problems related to the storage, transportation and disposal of residual

waste.23

Considering Plaridelenos are currently receiving free waste management services at their

homes, the municipal government may choose to offer the bio-waste pick-up as a free

service to minimize public outcry and encourage waste segregation. It may also be

advantageous in the outset to allow bio-waste to be disposed of by any available bag

instead of using an official bio-waste bag (or by bins provided by the city). Currently

residents are mostly using plastic bags obtained from stores for both their bio and non-bio

waste. Although the city could be flexible in the beginning with the bio-waste disposal

means used by residents, municipally mandated garbage bags would have to be used for

non-bio waste disposal in order to effectively charge based on the quantity of waste

generated, such as those used in the Olongapo study. It would be via the price of these

non-bio waste bags that the municipality would attempt to influence people’s disposal

habits.

Given that the average business produces more waste than the average household, the city

could also mandate the use of separate bags for the private sector. These bags should cost

more than the non-bio disposal bags intended for household use. This strategy is

consistent with the current pricing strategy which also levies more annually from

businesses for SWM than households.

24

3.B.2 Revenue Possibilities Under a Unit-Pricing System

At $730 Php per year, each business is paying approximately five pesos per bag if we

assume that they are disposing of three bags per week. (This figure is derived only for the

purpose of this example and may or may not have any bearing on reality.) This amount to

156 bags per year based on three bags/week disposal, which would amount to

approximately 93 bags of bio and 63 non-bio (following municipal averages that state

60% of all waste is bio). Assuming each business composts 100% of their bio-waste

properly, and maintain the same amount of non-bio output, at $15 pesos per non-bio

waste bag, the city would generate $954 pesos per business, resulting in roughly

$2,000,000 pesos a year in revenue, a little more than it presently generates. This is based

on a little more than one bag per week of non-bio waste.

At the household level, however, the figures are much different. If the cost of residential

bags were $10Php, for example, and each household produced roughly one bag of non-

bio per week, the city would generate $10,400,000 pesos per year. This figure is based on

the current total of 20,000 households in Plaridel. The total revenue from households and

businesses given in this example would be $12,400,000 pesos – roughly four times the

amount of this year’s entire SWM budget. It should be noted that this figure does not

include revenue generated from other sources, such as fining and fertilizer sales, both of

which would also increase under a new unit-pricing system.

Table 2: Example of Solid Waste Budget for 2009

2

Total number Charge per unit Total # of Units Total Revenue

Businesses 2,054 15 129,402 1,941,030

Households 20,000 10 1,040,000 10,400,000

Fertilizer Sales n/a 180 1,111 200,000

Fines 5,000 100 n/a 500,000

SS total: $ 13,041,030 All figures in Filipino Pesos

In this example table, there are four sources of revenue that provide financing for the

SWM system. The “Unit” in the vertical “Charge per Unit” column would refer to a

mandated garbage bag in the horizontal “Businesses” and “Households” categories, a kilo

of compost in the “Fertilizer Sales” category, and a ticket in the “Fines” category. (The

figures used for the unit pricing of the mandated garbage bags are based only on our

estimations of what we reason to be fair and may not be congruent with the opinion of

City Council.) $100 per fine is a random figure used for reasons of simplicity and is

calculated on the assumption that one in twenty Plaridelenos would receive a fine in 2009

for littering, which may or may not be close to accurate. All figures should be adjusted to

reflect Council’s better judgment.

2This table is based on information given for the city, even though it will be the future

responsibility of the barangays to handle their own waste management. Figures could be

adjusted to reflect the condition of each barangay if need be.

25

Nevertheless, we can see from this simple demonstration that a SWM system based on a

polluter-pays strategy could easily pay for itself. Even if households produced half the

estimated amount of waste given in this analysis, which would be one bag every two

weeks, and paid five pesos per bag as opposed to ten, the total figure would be roughly

$7,000,000. This is still much higher than the amount generated under the current system

and would most likely result in a reduction of non-bio waste. More importantly, however,

it would more justly redistribute the price of waste disposal to those who actually pollute

more.

3.B.3 Waste Reduction

One study conducted in the United States found that unit-pricing of garbage in 21

communities resulted in between 17 and 74 percent waste reduction24

. Without further in-

depth research, it is hard to estimate what the savings would be for the city of Plaridel.

However, it is probable that instituting such a system in Plaridel would bring about

greater waste reduction in a five year period, for example, than if the city were to

continue with its current flat-rate system for the same period of time.

As residual waste decreases, the revenue generated from the unit-pricing system would

also decrease. However, the revenue generated from fertilizer sales would hypothetically

increase due to increased compliance with waste segregation. The goal of this system, as

well as with the stated goal of RA 9003, is “zero-waste”. As such, financing for the SWM

system should eventually be covered entirely by fertilizer sales and revenue generated

from recycling.

A unit-pricing system would have the added bonus of providing more organic materials

for compost, which is also a source of revenue for the current Solid Waste Management

system. This would also benefit farmers as they would have more access to greater

amounts of organic fertilizer, which is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than

conventional industry alternatives. As composting increases, and non-bio waste

decreases, the system should financially balance out. That is, the system will generate

less income in such a scenario, but also require less financing.

3.C. Enforcement Issues

3.C.1 Enforcement in Waste Pricing

In any unit-pricing system, enforcement is an essential element in ensuring participation.

If people feel that compliance is optional, such systems often fail. As such, municipal

police, barangay security officers and perhaps a community level group of “waste patrol”

volunteers would have to be on vigil at all times at the outset of the program to dissuade

illegal dumping and burning. In other municipalities, like Cebu City, ticketing illegal

dumpers doubled as a source of revenue, adding necessary support to the system, which

eventually culminated in a successful reduction of their residual waste output.25

26

If a unit-pricing system for waste disposal were employed in Plaridel, there would also be

a need for garbage inspectors. It is sufficient in some communities to have the garbage

collectors quickly inspect the garbage bags to make sure there has been no non-bio waste

mixed in with the bio-waste. This can be facilitated by making the mandated uniform bio-

waste bags transparent. If there is contamination of the recyclable or compost waste, the

garbage collector should refuse to take it.

Garbage collectors, however, are not authorized to issue fines for improper waste

disposal. The municipality (or barangay) may want to consider the option of deputizing a

garbage inspector to grant him/her the power of issuing financial penalties for non-

compliance. This may be necessary only in the short-term until people’s behavior toward

waste disposal has changed.

3.C.2 Reducing Plastics

The municipality of Plaridel should consider banning or taxing the use of plastic bags in

local stores. Such strategies have been applied in various municipalities around the world

and have successfully reduced the amount of plastic bags used. A 0.15 Euro tax levied on

plastic bags in Ireland, for example, reduced the number of plastic bags in use by 90%.26

Local leader estimate this tax will result in "Over one billion plastic bags… being

removed from circulation while raising funding for future environmentally friendly

initiatives".27

As mentioned, the vast majority of plastics that end up in the municipal landfill in

Plaridel were originally plastic bags. These bags were given for free to consumers by

store owners. That is, the number one contaminant in the current municipal solid waste

problem is provided free of charge every day at hundreds of stores from around the

community.

If the Municipality is to reduce the amount of residual waste in its landfill, which

accounts for 25 percent of all current waste in Plaridel, addressing the issue of plastic

bags seems unavoidable. However, society’s dependence on plastic bags is so profound

that it would take time and good planning to break such an addiction.

The first step in such an initiative would be to provide viable alternatives to plastics.

Fortunately, Plaridel already has active cooperatives that are engaged in making cotton

and/or bamboo bags as livelihood projects. Currently the local bag market could be

considered a lost opportunity seeing as all bags are provided free of charge. With

sufficient government encouragement and subsidies, sustainable bag making projects

could become valuable livelihood activities for many people by creating jobs and income

that would simultaneously reduce waste.

A final consideration that every community in the modern world should be concerned

about is the future of oil. As oil prices continue to rise and we near a global peak in oil

production, prices of petroleum by-products, like fertilizers and plastics, will also

27

increase. Moving communities away from their dependence on these products sooner

rather than later is advisable. The continued excessive use of plastics, especially where

the majority is given for free as shopping bags, is environmentally and financially

unsound.

3.C.3 Municipal Budget

Currently MENRO has only a temporary position and is not a mandated department

within the municipal structure. We strongly feel that MENRO needs to have the status of

a department that will not be subject to the political whims of any future government; that

the success of many of the programs currently underway, or recommended here, would

depend on MENRO’s permanency and leadership to bring them to fruition, regardless of

the municipal administration in power. Therefore, increasing the municipal budget to

include a permanent place for MENRO as a department of the municipal government

should be considered a high priority.

Alternate revenue sources

One idea that was executed in Barangay Pitogo in Metro Manila was to hold a local

beauty pageant to raise money for programs designed to make their barangay cleaner.

Perhaps a similar, but more “Filipino” event would be to organize a singing contest, or a

“Plaridel Idol” contest (a local version of “American Idol”). Such an event could seek the

involvement of leaders from the local arts community to help diversify the range of

“opinion leaders” who are actively involved in creating a greener society. By lending

their credibility and status, these types of community leaders may be able to reach

elements of the population that the municipality would struggle to identify with.

In a “Plaridel Idol” contest, a panel of judges could be selected from a pool of established

musicians who would collectively evaluate amateur performers in front of a live audience

over the course of a week or two. The reason for having this awareness/fundraising event

(“to build a greener community”) would be well publicized with posters3, and would

involve keynote speakers giving short speeches in between acts. The event should be

organized in concert with local NGOs who would have information booths set up onsite

with volunteers ready to inform people about the various ways the public can get

involved to help make Plaridel greener. The event could also include short “citizen

recognition” awards in which a prominent member of the community would honor local

community members (children, elderly, activists, etc.) who have demonstrated

commitment to environmental sustainability4.

A plan detailing what the government will do depending on the amount of money raised

(i.e. “if we raise $100,000, a new truck will be purchased for the city; if we raise

$200,000 we will ________ ,” etc) should be made available at such an event to help

3 The posters could carry the new “green emblem” of Plaridel’s environmental movement. See Chapter II.

4 Medals or badges of honor would be better than cash prizes as the value of the celebrated actions would

be preserved and not promoted for the wrong reasons.

28

people visualize the positive changes planned for the community. This would

concurrently create transparency for the government and increase its credibility.

Ultimately, the re-pricing of waste can serve two important functions. The first is to help

to change the purchasing and SWM behavior of the citizenry. The second is to finance

the system in a way that is equitable to Plaridelenos. Since this system follows the

polluter pays principle, social and economic equity goals are served by the program.

In the case of particularly stubborn citizens, however, who seek ways to avert financial

incentives and penalties, a stronger stance may be required to elicit behavioral changes.

This topic is explored further in the following “Enforcement” chapter.

Chapter IV: Enforcement

29

4.1 Introduction

Although economic incentives and educational programs are imperative in cultivating

sustainable waste management practices, the role of enforcement is also crucial.

Especially at the outset of a SWM program that seeks to alter public behavior, penalties

have to be associated with failure to comply. If the desired course of action (i.e.

segregation-at-source) has to compete with the option to dispose of waste for free at any

time and anywhere without reprisal, success of the program will be extremely difficult. It

is probable that many people will not change their waste disposal habits if the way of

disposing of waste familiar to them is available as a free option. All perceived options

should be associated with relevant benefits and costs.

The goal in developing a new culture of waste management is in

part to recreate the familiar means of waste disposal. For many

people in Vancouver, for example, at home blue-box recycling is

to the customary method of recycling (Photo 2). After several

years of placing their recyclables in a blue-box, it may feel

unfamiliar to them if they were to throw recyclable waste into

the regular waste bin. This is not because people in Vancouver were born with an innate

sense of responsible waste disposal; rather, due to a culture of recycling that emerged at

some point in their life and was internalized. That emergent culture of waste management

has to become the familiar method of disposal for Plaridelenos as well. Building such a

culture would require a more comprehensive understanding of the costs and benefits

resulting from each available course of action of waste disposal methods. That is, their

associated incentives and penalties.

Incentives and penalties are two themes that are integrated throughout this report;

however, neither will be very effective if the law regarding proper disposal methods is

not taken seriously. Current behavior will likely not change unless people are taught that

it is wrong (education), encouraged to do the right thing (incentives), given the means to

do the right thing (convenient, effective infrastructure and services), and shown the

consequences for not doing the right thing (enforcement). This section suggests some

methods of enhancing the enforcement of solid waste management to help cultivate a

culture of waste management.

4.2 Current Situation

Solid waste management in Plaridel has made significant gains in recent years.

Knowledge of proper waste disposal methods has increased in this time due to ambitious

education campaigns and strong government initiative. Segregation-at-source, although

not yet widely practiced, is increasing at a household level every year. The public market

is segregating its waste, as are some public buildings and schools. The rationale of those

who are ambitious at the outset of a city-wide composting program are likely more

altruistic than self-motivated. These pioneers have internalized the values of a sustainable

waste management system without the need of any penalties to dissuade improper

Photo 2: Blue Box

30

disposal; that sustainable SWM serves the greater good of society was self-evident from

the beginning.

However, that is not the case for the majority of the population. Currently waste is still

routinely dumped into streams, informally thrown into open lots, or burned by many

people in the community. Most likely, it will take time for an education campaign to

cause a behavioral shift in this portion of the population. These types of campaigns are

normally considered to be part of a long-term plan. Unfortunately, the emergency of

global environmental deterioration needs urgent attention.

Meeting short-term goals in achieving a sustainable solid waste management system will

have to incorporate a variety of enforcement measures to help promote the right type of

behavior. People must know that there are clear economic, social, environmental and

personal benefits for practicing responsible waste management, as well as clear penalties

for failing to do so. Currently there are no evident consequences for someone choosing to

dispose of garbage illegally. Even though Plaridel already has ordinances that outlaw the

illegal disposing and burning of garbage, it continues without reprisal. On two separate

occasions during our stay in Plaridel, for example, we witnessed waste being burned by a

citizen in the presence of a police officer.28

4.3 Recommendations

To step up enforcement measures will likely require increased financing. The barangay

councils and municipal government should therefore increase their budgets for enhancing

enforcement. This expenditure, however, will most likely be recovered if appropriate

fining accompanies a planned budget increase.

As problems in society reach critical thresholds, the system has to make structural

changes to adapt or combat these emergent issues. Traffic police, for example, were not

necessary until traffic was substantial enough to demand such attention. Border patrols,

narcotics police divisions and traffic police are all similar examples of the creation of

specialty forces to combat perceived threats to the community. Considering the scale of

the current waste problem in Plaridel, perhaps there is a valid need for a “waste patrol”

enforcement unit. The number of waste patrol officers and their exact duties should be

determined by the Municipality, but at the very least they should entail the ability to issue

tickets.

To ensure that funding is in place and that new enforcement policies are effective, one

option for barangay councils and/or the municipal government is to create an

enforcement unit dedicated specifically to waste surveillance. Municipal or barangay

authorities could set a minimum amount of expected monthly revenue generated by

ticketing based on observed levels of non-compliance to waste disposal ordinances. That

expected amount could be adjusted either on a pre-determined schedule (i.e. quarterly), or

as the officers or local officials deem necessary. The anticipated result that people would

eventually cease to disobey the ordinances over time would necessitate a planned

recalculation of the expected minimum income generated from ticketing. As more people

31

Box 5: Excessive Enforcement in

Cebu

“Barangay Captain (George) Rama

and the tanods once joined

‘operation lunis’. The captain said

they were cleaning the front yard of

the residents because the residents

are not cleaning it. He threatened

residents however saying, that they

will burn their houses should he find

the place dirty on the next visit.

From then on the people in the area

started cleaning the place.” (sic) Source: Lapid, D., Munez, L. and Bongon, L.

(1996).

obey municipal SWM ordinances, less revenue should be expected to come from

ticketing. Ticketing officers, however, would be expected to issue enough fines to meet

the minimum expected amount. This is a common practice done in Western countries

with other sorts of frequently violated laws, such as speeding laws (i.e. police are

expected to issue a certain number of speeding tickets every month).

The study conducted in Cebu shows that draconian

enforcement strategies, such as physical threats,

abuse and open public rebuke, had a positive effect

on behavioral change. However, not only is this a

blatant violation of basic human rights, but this type

of enforcement would most likely only breed fear

and loathing, not understanding. The eventual goal of

any public education campaign that seeks to alter

people’s behavior should be peer-to-peer policing

that stems from a deeper understanding of the

inherent values of the campaign. In such a scenario

people refrain from doing the targeted action for fear

of being reprimanded by their peers. Such a scenario

promotes a higher level of compliance,

understanding and cultural growth.

To this end, it would be useful to find creative ways to involve all members of the

community in helping invoke change in people’s waste disposal behavior. Along with

strict penalties, the aforementioned barangay involved a group of community volunteers

that helped make sure people followed the new rules as set out by the barangay council.29

This was a group of community members who believed in the value of a clean

neighborhood and were willing to donate their time toward this end. A similar volunteer

group could be formed at the municipal or barangay level in Plaridel. Their role in the

community could range from watch dogs reporting on improper disposal activities, to

educators helping raise awareness of the benefits of a clean environment.

Another useful method to help monitor unlawful behavior in Plaridel would be to

publicize a “hotline” to which people could anonymously send text messages and report

illegal dumping. Considering the wide use of text messaging as a common and accessible

means of communication for Filipinos, this would grant people of all ages the quick and

easy ability to play a role in keeping their community clean. Concerned community

members could report to authorities when they witness garbage being disposed of

illegally. These messages could include information like where it happened, who did it (if

the person’s identity is known), a photo of the illegal activity (if the person’s cell phone

is equipped with such technology), what kind of garbage was disposed of, etc. If the

campaign were successful, it could even lessen the demand to employ more police to

patrol illegal dumping areas, hence saving on expenses. The hotline number should be

well publicized in visible, public areas, like Barangay Halls, schools, jeepneys, churches,

etc.

32

Social Pressure as an Enforcement Tool

Another available tool for dissuading illegal dumping is using a public “shame and fame”

board. Ideally located at the Barangay Hall (or other highly visible locations), this board

would publicize the names of citizens from that barangay who had committed a positive

or negative act regarding SWM. The “fame” column would be meant to celebrate the

citizens who made voluntary efforts to improve the local environment, whereas the

“shame” column would include citizens who deliberately harmed the local environment.

The purpose of such a scheme is to creatively use measures outside the regular set of

financial awards and penalties to help build compliance. Regardless of the enforcement

method employed, the Municipality should explore possibilities for enhancing the

enforcement of waste disposal ordinances.

Finally, we wish to state that in our opinion, enforcement should be coordinated between

the different levels of government and community groups. The collective responsibility

between different sectors of society could build more trust and compliance than if it were

top-down enforcement only. Networking between groups charged with enforcement

(especially between different barangays) will be fundamental to stopping illegal

dumping. To be successful, enforcement needs to be well-coordinated and well-financed.

Especially at the outset, the SWM system with have to relay the idea that there are

specific penalties assigned for the non-compliance of waste disposal ordinances.

Chapter V: MRF Development: Technical Aspects of Waste Processing, Storage and Collection

33

5.A.1 Introduction

The handling of waste proceeds in a series of stages, beginning with the generation of

waste, followed by the storage, collection, processing/recovery, and its final disposal.

These stages are encapsulated in the waste flow table (See Figure 3). This section of the

paper examines Plaridel’s existing and future policies on the middle stages of waste

handling: storage and collection.

The technical aspects of waste storage and transport can greatly affect the efficiency (and

cost) of service delivery. Without convenient and reliable pickup service, residents are

unlikely to comply with segregation-at-source regulations.30

Although more advanced

equipment can often amount to better service or cleaner storage facilities, it is also often

prohibitively expensive. Careful attention needs to be paid to the types of technology

(and associated costs) employed by the Municipality and barangays. The challenge is to

essentially determine which available option is the best long-term use of limited

resources. In most case this involves applying the principles of appropriate technology.

Appropriate Technology

When we speak about barangay-level SWM, it is important to look at technology that is

best suited to local requirements, not just what is most commonly used in other places.

Dependence on imported machinery and products worsens foreign exchange balances and

do nothing to develop the local economy.31

Furthermore, imported parts to fix machinery

will often become more expensive over the long run as maintenance costs begin to

mount. Ideally, the simplest technologies, made locally, are best. This is true not only for

MRF technology, but also for waste transport technology.

Most automated machinery used in the developed world (such as garbage trucks with

arms designed to pick up garbage cans from the sidewalk and automatically load them

into the truck) is premised on the idea that labor is expensive relative to machinery. This

is reversed in most of the developing world, including Plaridel, where labor is cheap

relative to the cost of machinery. Being modern should not be equated with being

Western. As Text Box 6 indicates, efforts to emulate Western technology could make the

system less efficient.

Despite the importance of appropriate technology selections, the ultimate challenge for

Plaridel remains more social than technical. One NGO that spent five years in partnership

with Batangas City stated that SWM “works most reliably with modest interventions and

an emphasis on participatory processes, rather than hard investment, technology, and

facilities.”32

34

Box 7: The Cost of Equipment In determining financial viability for

SWM equipment,

The sum of the machine cost (C)

needs to be added to the expected

repair costs (R) and the labor costs

involved in running the equipment

(L).

Cost = C + R + L

Box 6: Appropriate Technology and SWM • It used to be quite common for city councils in some developing countries to finance the purchase of

new refuse collection equipment with medium- to long-term loans (up to 30 years) from foreign donor

countries. Taking into account the fact that the average life of waste collection equipment is usually

limited to 5 to 7 years and combined with a poor revenue generating capacity of the municipality (to

service debts, cover operation and management costs and to replace assets), this frequently led to

crippling debts for the municipality, which continued long after the equipment had become obsolete and

was not used any more. • In some countries there has been a policy of standardisation of waste collection fleets, with the

obvious objective to reduce the costs of maintenance and supervision. The result has been that whole

areas have been left out, because the streets were too narrow, unpaved, or sloping. These areas often

happened to be low-income neighbourhoods, located at the urban fringe or in densely populated old city

centres. Leaving these areas unserved (or underserved) subsequently affected environmental and public

health conditions in the whole city. • In one country a sophisticated system was introduced, using a truck with an automatic loading system

to empty plastic bins, which had been placed outside by households. Unfortunately the distributed

plastic bins were far too valuable for the local population and were frequently used for other purposes,

such as washing clothes, bathing children, brewing beer, etc. Thus the whole system collapsed and the

expensive truck had to remain in the

garage, because it could not be used for manual loading. • Political motives have often coloured technology choices. Equipment has been provided by foreign

donor countries under ‘tied aid’ structures, usually favouring capital-intensive

equipment that is not the most appropriate for waste management in many developing countries. For

example this can result in the introduction of compactor trucks in developing countries, while the

density (compactness) of waste there is usually already very high due to

its high organic and dust content. According to some sources, capital-intensive technology is favoured

by many governmental employees, because it provides more opportunities for personal gain.

Source: Klundert and Anschutz, 1999.

5.A.2 Findings and Observations

Replicating the Municipal MRF

Overall, the municipal MRF has been an extremely successful project. Currently it only

accepts biodegradable waste, and uses locally serviceable and available materials and

technology to compost this waste into fertilizer. Although the organic fertilizer is being

sold to farmers at a subsidized price, it is still able to generate a profit large enough to

gradually pay for the cost of establishing the MRF. Furthermore, the location of the MRF

has sufficient space to expand its composting operations and continue to accept a larger

portion of the city’s biodegradable waste.33

Challenges experienced by the MRF include:

Plastic bags used to collect bio-waste being

mixed into non-bio waste, and must be

manually separated

Compost drying uses sun energy, but since

the compost area is uncovered, rain greatly

slows the drying process

35

Box 8: Challenges for

Clustering MRFs Insufficient

land/space for lot

sizes beyond

250sqm.

NIMBYism

No dispute

settlement

mechanism

No incentive for one

barangay to host the

MRF for another

Coconut husks, which require their own grinder, are slow to compost

Challenges in Building and Strengthening Barangay MRFs

The biggest challenge at the municipal level is finding ways to encourage the barangay-

level MRFs to be fully functional by the closure date of the old dumpsite. Under RA

9003, all barangays are expected to have access to their own MRF, either through

individual construction or clustering. MENRO has been directing the barangays to have

their MRFs functioning in all three of their capacities (transfer/collection point, recycling

point, composting point). MENRO has estimated basic MRF construction costs to be

roughly 200,000 pesos for an area around 250sqm. This is the approximate amount of

space deemed necessary for an average-sized barangay to host its own fully-operational

MRF. Smaller barangays will not need as much area as they will have lower volumes of

waste.

Municipal co-financing has involved offering 100,000 pesos to each barangay to help

with MRF construction costs. Although the expected cost is around 200,000 pesos, at

least one barangay claims that the true cost will be higher.34

Despite this subsidy,

limitations on the barangay budget underline the importance of using locally serviceable,

low-cost technology.

Given time restrictions, we were not able to visit every barangay hall to conduct

interviews. However, we selected five urban barangays to represent different stages of

MRF development. The foremost challenge reported by all five barangays was budgetary

constraint. Public information and political opposition were two other frequently cited

challenges. Two barangays stated that before they had even announced plans for MRF

construction or held any public consultation forums, petitions against the establishment of

an MRF were submitted to them.35

In both cases this opposition was claimed to be

political in nature, in as far as organizers of the petition were members of or supporters of

political opposition.

Virtually all barangays stated the following challenges:

Lack of funds (budgetary constraints)

Difficulty finding an available lot of sufficient size for MRF construction

A lack of public awareness regarding the nature of MRFs

A lack of positive public response to the MRFs

Lack of participation in segregating waste at source

Urban vs. Rural Barangays

Rural and urban barangays have different waste characteristics

and thus somewhat different requirements for their MRFs and

collection services.

At their most basic, the MRFs will act as a transfer point for

residual waste. The municipality will continue to collect

residuals indefinitely (if they are properly segregated). In

36

Box 9: Electoral Cycles and MRF Progress One interesting result was that in all Barangays visited

which could be considered compliant or strongly

interested in establishing an MRF were in their first term

of office. Conversely, urban Barangay Captains and

officials in their second term have done little or nothing to

establish MRFs. Their budget woes were due to a conflict

in funding prioritization between the city and barangays:

some officials had simply not invested the required portion

of their development fund into SWM.

densely populated areas, there will likely be sufficient organic waste to profitably create

composting facilities and to sell organic fertilizers. The proof is contained within the

profit margins of the municipal MRF.

Although clustering of MRFs at the barangay level would allow for reduced costs of

construction, finding appropriate lot sizes in urban areas is challenging. (According to

MENRO a full size barangay MRF would require around 250sqm, around the average lot

size. Two large barangays would therefore need much more than 250sqm, and it is

unlikely that such a large lot size is available in urban areas). Furthermore, there are

several disincentives for clustering (see Text Box 8).

Rural barangays face a different

SWM situation than most urban

ones. Throughout our visits to

rural barangays and interviews

with MENRO and barangay

officials, we were repeatedly told

that the volume of garbage

generated per capita in rural areas

is lower than in urban areas. This

is partly because rural areas

generally have lower income, and lower income levels normally result in lower

consumption rates. Finally, because there are many farmers in rural areas, backyard

composting is common, reducing the amount of waste picked up by the city.

5.A.3 Recommendations for MRF Development

Recommendations for the Municipal MRF

As described above, three challenges facing the MRF from a technical perspective are

plastics, rain during the drying process, and means to utilize the coconut husks.

MENRO’s plans for these three challenges are discussed below.

Currently there is an unwritten policy within MENRO to seek means to divert plastics

from the waste stream in a financially sustainable manner.36

One option being explored is

the purchase of a pelletizer or other means of recycling and reselling plastics. MENRO is

currently considering whether these bags should be cleaned at the household level by the

consumer, or at the MRF (by hand or machine). The intended output of the

pelletized/recycled plastics would be used as a strengthening agent in concrete

production.

We wish to point out that this would be effective over the short and medium-term;

however, as Plaridel moves closer to the national “zero waste” policy, and as measures to

encourage alternate bag-types become more common, the need to dispose of plastic bags

in their common form may greatly reduce. It would be useful, therefore, to explore other

avenues for the treatment of plastics.

37

The drying problem could potentially be addressed by a simple retractable roofing

system.37

Such a roof could be made of glass or plastic, and could either be hinged

(greenhouse style) or placed directly onto a four-corner frame. The design should

probably include tarps which could be hung over the sides to block rain, which may fall

at an angle in high winds.

With regards to problem concerning coconut husks, MENRO has already devised a plan.

By January, 2009, the MRF plans to act as a second transfer point and sorting area for

residual wastes intended for the sanitary landfill (SLF). Over the medium-term there are

plans to purchase another machine which would allow the transformation of coconut

husks into usable fibers. Information on the economic feasibility of such an enterprise

was not available at the time of writing; however, such a project has the potential for

local job creation in the form of laborers responsible for the handling and processing of

the husks, and artisans involved in making the fabrics or products to be sold.

Recommendations for Barangay MRFs

The municipality’s offer to temporarily continue picking up biodegradable waste from

the barangay MRFs allows delay in the purchasing of additional tools for composting

purposes. As long as the city collects organic waste, the barangays need not worry about

managing it. However, potential income generated from composting could be the primary

source of revenue from the barangay MRFs, just as it is for the municipal MRF. As such,

delaying their construction represents opportunity cost in the form of lost income to the

barangay MRFs. It is therefore in their interest to build their composting capacity as soon

as possible.

Over the long run, depending on the volume of bio-waste being converted to fertilizer,

economies of scale may dictate the purchase of a machine that grinds the compost.

However, at over 100,000 pesos per machine, a more effective short-term solution is

using basic human labor. In other municipalities, employees using machetes (gulock)

chop organic matter into smaller pieces effectively.38

The only truly inefficient

biodegradable product which cannot be processed by this technique is coconut husks,

which are also relatively slow to grind with automated machinery. It seems clear that for

efficiency’s sake, the municipal MRF should utilize the coconut husks in its planned fiber

creation project, which is projected by MENRO to become a profitable enterprise.

MRF Financing: Recommendations for the Municipal MRF

The Municipality has made clear their plan to close the current municipal dumpsite by

December of 2008. The lack of progress in some barangays towards establishing their

own MRFs by this time indicates a possible need for added incentive. The current

100,000 peso fund offered to barangays that complete construction of their MRF has no

expiry date. This bonus fund will be as available a year from now as it is today. One

possible measure for the Municipality to undertake in effort to build incentive is to

incrementally reduce the amount of available funding over time. This could be

38

accomplished by either establishing a firm deadline, after which access to the funding

will have expired.

A second option would be to gradually decrease the amount of available funding. For

example, reducing funding by 10,000 pesos per month starting in December would

motivate barangays to begin construction as soon as possible. Failure to complete

construction by the stated deadline would result in a reduction of available funding with

each month/week that passes until a predetermined deadline, after which no funding will

be available.

A third option would be to offer incentives to barangays to cluster. As it stands, it is

entirely up to the barangays to negotiate an arrangement. Lack of funds and the “not in

my backyard” mentality or NIMBYism, however, appear to be constraining clustering.

The municipal response could be to offer the 100,000 MRF construction subsidy to any

barangay willing to accept the waste of other barangays. This carries with it the risk of

improper segregation by the barangay not responsible for the processing of waste. A

dispute settlement mechanism would have to be created to avoid such problems. It would

be prudent if the host-barangay would levy a fee commiserate with the degree to which

the other barangay involved in the clustering complies with segregation-at-source.

As a further incentive for barangays to finish their MRFs on schedule, a host barangay in

a clustering (or similar) situation could consider the possibility of charging a tipping fee

based on the volume of waste delivered to their MRF by other barangays. Such a fee

would act as a reward for the barangays that complete their MRFs on schedule and as a

penalty for those who fail to do so. Furthermore, this fee would help the host barangay

recover some of the operational costs involved in hosting the MRF.

5.B Waste Storage and Collection Strategies

5.B.1 Household Storage

Findings

Through various interviews with the GSO, MENRO, a garbage truck driver, and a few

members of the general population, we were able to gain a fair understanding of the

methods of waste storage practiced at the household level.

The primary method of household storage is in plastic shopping bags. This is an

affordable storage medium which is readily available and provides at least one means to

reuse plastic bags before final disposal. However, such bags are not desirable for several

practical reasons. Firstly, as waste-storage containers they have questionable durability.

Secondly, plastic bags are prone to leaking when storing bio-waste. This could add to the

current unattractive prejudice already associated with composting in Plaridel, thus further

complicate public participation. Thirdly, pests, including dogs, birds and rodents, are

known to tear open bags and spread their contents on the streets. This makes it difficult to

leave the bags out in advance for garbage collectors, particularly on bio-waste pickup

39

Photo 2: Hanging of bio-waste in Plaridel neighborhood

days. Finally, if they are used to store bio-waste, they will often be too soiled for

recycling and will become residual waste.

Residents have dealt with some of these problems in two ways. The primary method we

viewed in one neighborhood was for homeowners (generally women) to bring out their

waste when called by the garbage collectors. A second method was leaving compost bags

hanging on a fence outside of the home (See Photo 2). On at least one instance, we saw

birds pecking at one of these hanging bags, which appeared likely to tear.

Neither of these two options appears desirable. In the first case someone must be home to

bring out the biodegradables exactly at pickup time, and in the latter case there is a

constant risk of pets and mess. These issues have implications for pickup schedule,

described below.

Household pickup and transport

Pickup must be convenient for household

members. However, studies have shown

willingness to pay among households in

the Philippines is quite low.39

This is

further evidenced by the fact that the

garbage fee for households in Plaridel, a

flat fee of 300 pesos per year, has not been

collected due to opposition from the

populace. This implies the need for

lowest-cost pickup options as relatively

little of the cost of pickup can be passed

onto consumers, at least until barangays take over pickup functions. Hopefully more

decentralized management may make the linkage between user-fees and garbage pickup

services more acceptable.

5.B.2 Recommendations:

Storage

Solid containers

Although theft is a major barrier, creative means to institute the use of solid containers is

possible. This may include bolting the containers to the ground, enforcing vandalism of

municipal containers, etc. In other countries a variety of storage mediums have been tried

with varying degrees of success. Until the issue of theft is solved, however, the need for

bags as a storage medium will likely continue.

Bio-plastics

40

A variety of imitation-plastics derived from plant materials are commonly found

throughout Europe. One possibility for streamlining the process for

bio-waste would be to mandate such bags for biodegradable

pickups. This would reduce sorting times during the composting

stage as the bags themselves are compostable and could therefore be left in with the rest

of the bio-waste. For example, on pickup day a new biodegradable bag could be

exchanged for a full one. The cost of biodegradable bags (such as those made from

starch) was not immediately available, but they are believed to be price-competitive with

other plastics. In stores in Canada, for example, these bags can be purchased for the

equivalent of four pesos per bag (retail pricing). (For comparative purposes the same

stores sell conventional plastic bags for five pesos per bag.) We were not able to research

bulk pricing. Nevertheless, this technology remains one possible avenue to explore in the

future.

Household Pickup Scheduling

As described in the previous section, in some neighborhoods the pickup schedule may be

challenging as members of the household may not always be available to bring out their

garbage when the truck arrives. Immediate policy implications are that bio-waste should

be picked up during hours when family members are likely to be home in order to

maximize convenience.

5.B.3 Pickup and Transport: Vehicle Technology and Scheduling

Findings and Observations

Although ten barangays have garbage trucks, seven are being used for waste pickup.

Most, if not all, of these trucks are being used for non-garbage purposes as well. These

alternative uses for the trucks have proven to be more profitable, and because the

Municipality is still providing free pickup services, these barangays have not prioritized

solid waste management in their neighbourhoods. One barangay official, for example,

informed us that they were not using their truck because of fuel costs.40

The Municipality is offering co-financing for non-truck pickup vehicles, including:

Free pedi-cabs set up with garbage pickup capacity

Free motorcycles with side-car, set up for garbage pickup capacity, such as the

one which was provided to barangay San Jose

The mode of pickup is determined by a variety of factors,

including:

Type and composition of waste (Is it heavy? Dense?

Hazardous?)

Road type and accessibility (will the vehicle fit? How does

it interact with traffic patterns?)

Photo 3: example of Bio-

plastic Bag

41

Range (in general, non-motorized transport, such as bicycles or handcarts, is

limited to around one or two square kilometers around the transfer point due to

the amount of time it takes to move to the depot or transfer area

Costs, such as the relative costs of labor to capital, running costs, and fuel costs,

as compared to the available budget

Common means of pickup employed in many developing countries are listed below in

Table 3. When making decisions regarding pickup types, barangays in particular should

keep in mind that combinations of these methods will be most effective.

Table 3: Optional Pick-up Modes

Type

Effective

range from

transfer

station

(square

kilometers)

Purchasing

cost

Labor

costs per

ton of

waste

Maintenance Costs (including

lifespan/replacement

costs) Maneuverability

Handcarts 1sqk Very low Low Very low Increasing

Pack-animals 1sqk Low Low Low

Bicycle-carts 1-2sqk Very low Very low Very low

Motorcycles 1-5sqk Medium Medium Low Tractors (with

trailers) 1-5sqk High Medium Medium

Pickup trucks <2sqk High Low High

Full-size trucks <2sqk Very high Low High Decreasing

(Adapted from UNEP, 2005)

The range (but not necessarily the load) increases as we move down the list. However,

cost also increases, while maneuverability is lost due to increased vehicle size. When full

and moving at full speed, large vehicles have a fuel advantage over smaller ones. The

fuel advantage of large trucks is also lost in areas with frequent stops and starts, which

wastes much energy.

Maximizing Vehicle Potential: Trailer Technology

A simple trailer attached to a conventional vehicle, like a car or pickup truck, can greatly

increase capacity for garbage pickup at minimal cost. If more than one trailer is used, the

vehicle can make trips back to the transfer point while the other trailer is loaded by

laborers.

This theory applies to virtually all types of transport into which some sort of trailer

module can be added, including bicycles and motorcycle-based units. Several helpers

with a handcart, for example, could each cover one city block at the same time and

converge at a single trailer, which would act as a mobile transfer station. The trailer could

be exchanged for an empty one, and the full one transported (by motorcycle, car, or

conventional truck such as a barangay vehicle) to the MRF while the helpers continue to

load the freshly emptied trailer. In this way helpers would be fully employed in collecting

and trucks would be used most effectively.

42

5.B.4 Private Sector Involvement in SWM

It also bears mentioning that junkshop owners could continue to play an important role in

door-to-door waste collection. Throughout Plaridel, junkshops act as collection points for

recyclable goods, and in many cases daily pickup is provided at no cost to the

municipality or barangays. In this sense the private sector is already providing waste

collection services.

One question which remains open is what will happen to junkshop owners when

barangay MRFs are competing for the same source of funding: recyclables. On the one

hand, the service is currently provided for free and is important in poverty alleviation. On

the other hand, when barangays are providing pickup services, the revenue for

recyclables will be awarded to the treasury.

5.B.5 Recommendations

Rapidly increasing oil prices are showing no signs of abating. This implies the need to

look at long-term costs in a world where oil is extremely expensive, or perhaps

completely unavailable. For example, if gas continues to rise at 15% per annum for the

next five years, gas prices will double by 2012. Plaridel’s barangays and municipality

must plan accordingly.

A one or two kilometer zone encompassing each barangay MRF would be better serviced

by bicycle or handcarts for waste disposal. They would be quiet, less disruptive to traffic,

more mobile, and less polluting (unlike a diesel truck).5 Outside this range of one to two

kilometers, a choice will have to be made between using motorized vehicles, or adding

additional transfer points from which vehicle pickup would be possible. Only in

extremely dense areas are garbage trucks likely to be cost-effective, and even then a

combination that includes a trailer-based system (as described above) may prove more

cost efficient.

Additional transfer stations would be extremely challenging in areas where land is

expensive, unless informal agreements can be reached for using vacant lots. There is also

a risk that transfer stations will quickly become points for illegal garbage dumping, as

can easily be observed in many empty lots in Plaridel already.

Smaller, denser areas must balance factors like distance from the MRF and population

density/amount of waste. Poblacion, for example, is only 49 hectares, making it the

smallest, but most densely populated barangay. It would therefore have to carefully price

the tradeoffs between labor-intensive non-motorized pickup and carrying capacity.

For the larger, less dense areas, such as Bulihan (493 Ha), which also has tight,

challenging roads (and is likely to generate much less garbage), smaller vehicles such as

5 The limited range of these non-motorized options makes them less feasible in rural

areas.

43

motorcycles with sidecars or other low-profile vehicles are likely the most effective

means for garbage pickup.

Other barangays may fall in between these two extremes depending on the above factors

(e.g., geography, cost, population density, etc.). There will be no one-size-fits-all solution

for the barangays as each has unique geographic and demographic features.

Pickup Frequency and Bio-Waste

Biodegradable waste comprises the largest part of the waste stream in most cities. The

last waste audit in Plaridel found biodegradable waste to be approximately 60% of total

waste. Considering the quantity of this portion of waste, and the rate at which it

decomposes, pick up should be frequent.

Heat and humidity accelerate the decomposition of bio-waste and aid in producing foul

odors, which likewise attract unwanted pests. This spells the need for a minimum bi-

weekly pick up schedule for bio-waste in most barangays: an idea that was reinforced

through several interviews with key informants from across the community. Therefore

this should be considered the baseline for biodegradable waste service.

Pickup Frequency and Residuals

Pickup frequency of residual waste is less of a pressing concern, so long as the residuals

are properly segregated. When bio-waste is separated from residual-waste, the waste is

unlikely to smell, and health hazards (like lice) are more easily avoided. Nevertheless,

pickup for residuals would ideally be at least once per week. This could also be combined

with a bio-pickup day.

Incorporation of the Private Sector

We also recommend that the junkshop owners (JSOs) be incorporated into the SWM

service sector at the barangay level. One possible way to incorporate them would be to

allow them to continue providing the same services, but in partnership with the

Municipality. The Municipality would receive whatever recyclables the JSO did not get.

Setting up a cooperative can allow for much higher income generation for most JSOs.6 In

Batangas, for example, a cooperative was set up with help from the Municipality and an

outside NGO, which raised the standard of living for the junkshop owners.41

Linis Ganad,

a JSO cooperative in Manila, provides free services and helps in the establishment of

such cooperatives.

Pickup Services in the Poorer Informal Settlements

6 It is also worth noting that in numerous case studies within the Philippines, it has been

shown that JSOs make little money compared to the middle-men whom they sell to.

Source: Anschutz and Lapid, 2004.

44

Within these areas, many dwellings are small and afford minimal space for indoor

storage. With extremely poor families, purchasing is so infrequent that even plastic bags

(such as grocery bags) may not be regularly available for disposal. To complicate matters

further, the costs involved in pickup are greatly increased in low-income areas,

particularly informal settlements. Those located along the riverside, for example, have

extremely narrow, winding pathways that make access difficult and time-consuming for

garbage collectors. Conversely, these groups tend to generate the least amount of garbage

when measured either by weight or volume. This implies that just one person can

transport the garbage from a large number of households.

This may present one case where extremely frequent collection is required. This would

ideally be in concert with accessible bins (which should be made difficult to appropriate

and of low value for scrap). These bins could be filled by an informal collector and

placed along the street, which would likely provide enough garbage for a small vehicle to

pick up and transport (such as a motorcycle with side-car, or a pedal garbage truck).

The responsibility for such areas is clearly within barangay-level administration.

However, in as far as it provides potential employment for former scavengers, the

Municipality could consider a modest contribution to the wages of workers involved in

daily or bi-daily collection from communal bins. In these areas, daily collection may

prove to be the best barrier against illegal dumping.

5.B.6 Long-Term Municipal Waste Transport Requirements

This section attempts to examine the medium and longer-term investment requirements

of the municipality, with consideration given to the increasing role for the barangays in

garbage collection, and the transport of all residual waste to the new sanitary landfill

(SLF).

Findings

For the Municipality, pickup will begin at the barangay MRFs and run to the municipal

MRF. Given that this will involve transporting large loads of garbage from concentrated

sources with relatively little loading time, the municipality has excellent capacity for

pickup without upgrading their fleet. Furthermore, the city already has several trucks

available that should be able to handle this workload.

For transport to the SLF, however, the Municipality is considering the purchase of a

large, 10-wheel dump truck from Japan. The rationale behind the purchase is the tipping

fee at the SLF, which will likely be based on number of trips and not on truck capacity.

Furthermore, once loaded a large truck (traveling at a consistent speed) may provide

some fuel savings over a smaller truck. In other words, the trucks purpose from the

municipal perspective is to lower the costs of disposal at the future SLF when residual

wastes are dumped. However, a closer analysis that weighs the truck-purchase option

45

against other cost-saving possibilities should be considered closely before arriving at a

final decision.

Factors such as the original purchase, running cost (i.e. fuel), labor cost, maintenance

costs, and replacement costs, should be included when considering the purchase of a new

truck. We could not give exact calculations at this time, because exact costs for the truck

and its fuel requirements are not yet available, nor was the tipping fee.

Other potentially relevant considerations include:

- The effect on employment (more trips may actually be better).

- Serviceability of Vehicles (which will affect cost).

- Ability to keep the municipal MRF clear of residuals (less frequent trips mean

more time with a growing pile of residuals).

A preliminary list of alternatives for meeting this demand includes:

The status quo option (using frequent trips, doing nothing else) which will result

in a higher tipping fee

Changing the tipping fee at the SLF. Although this is not directly within the

authority of the Municipality, it is possible to organize with the

provincial/regional government. This could be accomplished through:

o Lobbying for a by-weight fee, common in many dumpsites

Or

o Lobbying for a charge by waste volume

Considerably reducing the flow of residual waste (thus reducing the number of

trips) through increased recycling and recovery efficiency. As 90% of residual

waste is projected to be plastics (largely made up of plastic bags) then the most

viable option for reducing costs would be to apply the four Rs to the plastics

stream. This may require a redirection of expenses into other forms, including a

pelletizer at the municipal MRF and potential labor costs in cleaning plastics for

potential reuse.

We have drafted a sample comparison chart for these options in Table 4 below. The table

is incomplete due to information not available to as at the time of writing. However,

during the decision making process we recommend plugging in information as it becomes

available in order to better weigh the options and tradeoffs involved.

46

Table 4:

Medium-term Policy Options for Municipal Waste Transport

Relevant measures and objectives Status Quo Purchase/import of large truck

Household plastics

cleaning MRF cleaning costs

Changing Tipping

Fees

Purchasing Cost 0 ?

1 pelletizer -

P100,000 ? 0

Labor Costs 2 trips, _ hours, = Low - 1/2 trips = 1/2 labor costs Low - 1/2 trips

Medium-high - 1/2

trips, high c leaning

costs

Labor of munic ipal

employees

Equipment Maintenance Costs Current (approximately 50,000/year) Replacement of parts will be expensive ? ? 0

Tipping Fees (per ton of garbage) 2x 1x >1x >1x Lower in all cases

Plaridelians employed 2 to 4 loss of one driver? 2 - 4 at MRF 4 - 6 at MRF Two to four

Other comments

Compactor can be used for lighter

materials to fit more per truck load

Possible extra costs for re-training driver;

possible difficulties with road width near MRF

Possible employment

for former

scavengers?

This policy is

complimentary to

options 1, 3, and 4. If

successful, it would

render option 2 less

useful.

Uncertainty Life remaining in existing trucks Maintenance costs

Resale/reuse value of

plastics uncertain.

Liklihood of

household compliance

unkown.

Labor costs unkown.

Resale prices of

plastics unknown. (May be impossible)

Reducing residuals through use of

plastics

It is important to note the high uncertainty of this analysis due to lack of definitive

information. This table should merely be used as a guide for helping to evaluate

purchasing decisions in the future. We would like to draw particular attention to the fact

that the truck does not appear at this stage to be a least-cost solution, and may actually

hurt employment. Furthermore, since dialogue is free, it seems that it would be

immediately worthwhile to pursue the possibility of charge-by-weight or by truck volume

systems at the SLF, as this could help to eliminate the need for a larger truck.

An alternate solution to frequent pickups is large, air-tight containers for biodegradable

waste. This would both cut down on smell and potential for pests and vectors.

Unfortunately, lack of space on the street and frequency of theft of containers makes this

an impractical solution over the short-term.

47

Chapter VI: Conclusions

Although the capitalist economy has produced an extraordinary level of convenience that

characterizes much of the modern world, it has brought with it a culture of excessive

waste. The current system is expert at creating products made to temporarily satiate a

particular desire, or satisfy an overwhelming curiosity. But it claims no moral or ethical

allegiance to the space it occupies: our space, the environment. Our communities face the

formidable challenge of correcting this irresponsible culture of waste generation and

disposal; a culture that has come to contaminate the spaces we live in, the rivers we drink

from, the soil we depend on, and the air we breathe.

Since the Second World War, products have increasingly been designed to be cheap and

disposable. Many countries, like the Philippines, are facing extraordinary problems

dealing with the amount and toxicity of waste they produce. The harmful effects of

certain materials, such as leechate from batteries, or mercury found in cell phones, are

almost never confined to the landfill and invariably spread into the surrounding

ecosystem.

Reducing consumption is still considered taboo by most policy makers as slowing

production and consumption is said to interfere with the economy. However, it is

increasingly clear that the old economic model of production consumption landfill

disposal is overly wasteful. It is also increasingly clear that this outmoded model is what

has driven global fuel shortages and the food crisis.

The products we consume and the machines used in their production represent a

significant portion of the contemporary ecological crisis. Machines make our products,

ship them, heat them, cool them, process them, and transport them once again when they

are disposed of. Dependence on machines is arguably a significant contributing factor to

the detrimental environmental condition in which we are currently immersed.

Technology plays an intimate role not only in the way we engage the world, but how we

understand it. Our way of knowing depends in a large part on the technology we use and

the scientific know-how that enables it.

This dependence on technology creates what one author has called an “ingenuity gap”.42

That is, we cease to be able to address problems with our own creative mental faculty due

to an ingrained familiarity of technology doing it for us. We fail to recognize the true

range of available solutions to a given problem as we remain blinded by the influence of

technology. We are currently in a crisis situation; how do we get out of it? Do we create

more technology to save us? How much will it cost? What other options are available?

But new technology will not necessarily solve old problems. Technology can be a useful

ally in helping us mitigate our impact on the environment, but we should hesitate in

letting it be the central component of a system we are struggling to make sustainable.

Technology breaks down, becomes undependable, is often beyond our budget, and

complicates our systems beyond recognition. Yet we wait for its timely interjection into

our lives in hope that it will strategically aid in diminishing the environmental impacts of

48

other technologies we have created. In the meantime, however, landfills continue to

grow while our ingenuity gap unwittingly forfeits the space necessary for garbage to

accumulate into spectacular mountains of refuse.

Reducing the amount of garbage we produce as a society is the best way to avoid

pollution. Waste reduction removes the perceived need for more machinery to process it,

transport it, or dispose of it. An expensive plastic pulverizing machine, for example, is

made redundant if plastic is no longer a large portion of our waste. A 10-wheeler will not

be necessary if there is less garbage to transport.

Reducing bio-waste, however, may be more difficult than non-bio waste. We need to eat,

farm and maintain our properties. As mentioned previously in this report, 60% of all

waste in Plaridel falls into this category. Nevertheless, the best means of treating this

waste is currently being practiced in Plaridel: Composting. It is an ancient practice that

needs no modern technology. Simple machinery is currently used in processing some of

this waste, but is not necessary. If this particular machine breaks down, the system will

not collapse. Simple tools, like machetes, could replace machinery if need be.

Therefore, we find that an emphasis needs to be placed on labor-intensive practices over

expensive capital investments. If all of the fertilizer in Plaridel could come from food

waste within its own boundaries; if residual waste became 1% because 99% was being

recycled into Plaridel-made materials; if each barangay was a model of sustainable

consumption, then Plaridel would be a model for sustainability in the Philippines.

This report has tried to provide some preliminary steps in reaching such a vision. The

decentralization of MRF functions and garbage collection is only the first step in such a

process, albeit a formidable one. Most important is that citizens understand the

possibilities which are available to them, and that such visions are “marketed” to every

group through the best available means.

We have learned that good ideas already exist within the local populace; it is only a

matter of harnessing their creativity. Using public spaces to engage the local population is

one means of tapping their creativity and ingenuity. From churches to the Barangay

Halls, schools and sari sari stores, the local community frequently congregates and people

share their opinions and ideas about contemporary issues. Using these spaces to engage

the public and harness their creativity is a challenge for political leaders, but one that

could decide the outcome of the current struggle to create a cleaner environment.

In conclusion, we applaud the community’s efforts to establish a city-wide composting

system. We categorically agree with the present trajectory and ideology of the incumbent

municipal government. The recommendations embodying this report were made in effort

to strengthen or enhance the current system. The present federal administration of the

Philippines has indicated a clear need for better solid waste management practices, and

we believe Plaridel has begun to answer that call. The road ahead is daunting, but the

need to travel it has never been so clear. Without a planned, global diversion from the

status quo, the results for all of us could be catastrophic.

49

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2 Rene Rivero, head of MENRO, interview with the authors, Aug 2

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3 Tucker, P. Murney, G. and Lamont, J. Predicting recycling scheme performance: a process

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15 Ibid

16 Climate Action Network Europe website, available online at:

http://www.climnet.org/publicawareness/waste.html 17

Barbara Serrano (Municipal Budget Officer) in discussion with the author, August 6th, 2008.

18 Barbara Serrano (Municipal Budget Officer) in discussion with the author, August 6

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19 Ibid

20 Bennagen, M and Altez, V. Impacts of Units Pricing of Solid Waste Collection and Disposal in

Olongapo City, Philippines (2004), Research Report, EEPSEA. 21

Bennagen, M and Altez, V. Impacts of Units Pricing of Solid Waste Collection and Disposal in

Olongapo City, Philippines (2004), Research Report, EEPSEA. 22

Ibid 23

Ibid 24

Bennagen, M and Altez, V. Impacts of Units Pricing of Solid Waste Collection and Disposal in

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BBC News (20 August 2002), “Irish Bag Tax Hailed Success”. Found online at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2205419.stm. 27

Ibid 28

5th August 2008, Authors’ Personal Observation.

29 Lapid, D., Munez, L. and Bongon, L. (1998), Community Participation in Urban Solid Waste

Management in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, the Philippines, UWEP City Series: Final Report.

50

30

Knussen, C. Yule, F. MacKenzie, J. and Wells, M. “An Analysis of Intentions to Recycle

Household Waste: The Roles of Past Behaviour, Perceived Habit, and Perceived Lack of

Facilities.”Journal of Environmental Psychology 24 (2004): 237–246 31

United Nations Environment Program, Solid Waste Management, 2005. 32

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Rene Rivero (head of MENRO) in discussion with the author, July 24th, 2008.

34 “Dugay” (barangay Poblacion captain) in discussion with the authors, July 31

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35 Atilano Garcia (barangay San Jose captain) in discussion with the authors, July 19

th, 2008.

36 Rene Rivero (head of MENRO) in discussion with the author, July 24

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37 Professor Nora Angeles in discussion with the authors, July 19

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38 Rene Rivero (head of MENRO) in discussion with the authors, July 24

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39 Naz, A. and Naz, M. Modeling Choices for Ecological Solid Waste Management in Suburban

Municipalities: User Fees in Tuba, Philippines. (2006). Available online @ www.eepsea.org 40

Virgilio Alejo (barangay captain of Santo Nino) in discussion with the author, July 29th 2008.

41 Anschutz, J. and Lapid, D. Integrated Sustainable Waste Management in Batangas Bay:

Lessons Learnt from the UWP Program in the Philippines. (UWEP City Series Final Report,

UWEP Urban Waste Expertise Program, 2004). 42

Homer-Dixon, T. (2000), The Ingenuity Gap: Facing the Economic, Environmental, and Other

Challenges of an Increasingly Complex and Unpredictable World.