The Zero Waste Cities Project Dumaguete and other Environmental groups are actively pushing and presenting ideas for waste management systems at barangay level, which is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines, and for proper waste segregation starting at the source, all of which are directly related to the premise of RA-9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
Zero Waste Cities Project is a partnership between barangays and the local and national non-governmental organizations: War of Waste Negros Oriental, Mother Earth Foundation, and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives. A study conducted by Zero Waste Cities Project in selected cities around the country revealed that 61.3% of household wastes are biodegradable, 19.2% are non-biodegradable, 16.1% are residual, and the remaining 3.4% are either special or hazardous wastes.
Zero Waste Cities Projects encourages Dumaguete’s 30 barangays to work on a decentralized system and appoint designated collectors of waste. At the same time, local households should be encouraged and taught how to properly identify their wastes and the proper disposal of said wastes. In 2018, it partnered with the barangays of Lo-oc, Piapi, and Bantayan in adopting a comprehensive waste management system that includes building of small-scale Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) which resulted in a reduction of over 60% in wastes being thrown to dumpsite and into bodies of water.
(Sources: Manila Bulletin; Negros Chronicle; Philippine Information Agency)