Green Group Laments Over Post-Revelry Garbage in Metro Manila’s Streets, Urges Citizens to commit to Waste Less, Recycle More this New Year
Martinez St., Mandaluyong City
Francisco St. (near Oro-A St.), San Andres, Manila
J.P Rizal Ave. cor H. Santos St., Barangay Tejeros, Makati City
Kaliraya St., Quezon City
Bagong Kalsada, Tuktukan, Taguig City
After the smoggy atmosphere owing to the warlike blasting of firecrackers and fireworks had eased, an environmental organization drew attention to the mountains of garbage that lined up Metro Manila’s streets the morning after the New Year’s
revelries.
The EcoWaste Coalition, a waste and pollution watchdog group, lamented the mammoth disposal of post-revelry trash in countless street corners and sidewalks that is sure to keep garbage collectors busy and the dump trucks and dumpsites full to the brim.
“On the first day of the New Year, we see these all too familiar sights of street dumps and smell the stink of mixed garbage rising from it,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste
Coalition.
“Tons of garbage from the revelries, left on the streets to be collected and disposed of by haulers in far-off places, greet passersby and commuters covering their noses because of the stench,” she said.
“Disappointingly, this is the messiness by which we usher in the New Year. And it’s a messiness that is polluting even faraway communities where such garbage is disposed of in dumpsites or landfills,” she observed.
The group’s Basura Patrollers reported seeing street dumps along J. P. Rizal Ave., Makati City; Sangandaan Market, Malabon City; Martinez St., Mandaluyong City; Francisco St. in San Andres and the whole stretch of Quirino Ave., Manila City; E. Rodriguez Ave.-Damayang Lagi and Kaliraya St., Quezon City; and Bagong Kalsada, Tuktukan, Taguig City.
Firecracker wrappers, food leftovers, Styrofoam containers, soiled packaging materials, and lots and lots of plastic bags were among the most visible stuff thrown away by residents, the Basura Patrollers reported.
Since this is the period when many people make resolutions for the New Year, the EcoWaste Coalition urged Filipinos from all walks of life to commit to preventing and reducing waste this 2014.
“We invite everyone, from the filthy rich to the dirt poor, to waste less this New Year by reducing what we throw away and reusing, repairing and recycling even more,” Lucero suggested.
“By aiming for a Zero Waste lifestyle at home, church, school, workplace and neighborhood where we belong, we save precious resources from being squandered, reduce environmental pollution, make our communities tidier and safer, and save public monies by avoiding
disposal costs,” she stated.
“We surely can have a garbage and toxics-free society by embracing a more eco-friendly way of life,” she added.
“Otherwise, our littered streets will turn from bad to worse and our garbage production will perpetually swell polluting surroundings near and afar and consuming lots of public funds for cleanup and disposal,” she warned.
According to data posted at the website of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), the national daily waste generation is to rise from 38,757 tons in 2013 to 38,092 in 2014. It was estimated at 37427 in 2012 and is projected to climb to 40,087 in 2016.
As per the NSWMC, the National Capital Region’s garbage generation is set to increase from 8,754 tons in 2013 to 8,907 tons daily in 2014. Based on NSWMC’s figures, Metro Manila’s garbage is 52% biodegradable, 41% recyclable and 7% residual.
Waste diversion rate, or the amount of trash diverted away from dumpsites, landfills and incinerators, is reportedly 41% in Metro Manila and 36% outside Metro Manila, according to the NSWMC.
-end-
Reference:
http://www.emb.gov.ph/portal/
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