Environmental Advocates Plead for Proper Waste Management as Communities Brace for Typhoon Ompong
Environmentalists were quick to remind the public to mind
their trash as communities in large sections of the country, particularly in
Luzon and Metro Manila, brace for the onslaught of typhoon Ompong.
Noli Abinales, Adviser of Buklod Tao and Board Member of
the EcoWaste Coalition, urged affected citizens to make it a point to include
the ecological management of discards before, during and after Ompong as an
essential part of the household and
community preparation for the severe weather disturbance.
“Waste prevention and reduction is a key component of any
effective community-based disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM). The faithful implementation of good practices
in ecological waste management will help in reducing the typhoon’s impact to
community health and the environment,” said Abinales, a resident of San Mateo,
Rizal and survivor of the deadly typhoon Ondoy in 2009.
“We need to cut the volume of what we throw out as our
dumpsites are already bursting at the seams.
We need to ensure as well that what we dispose of are safely managed so
as not to pose harm to our families, neighbors, waste workers, and our fragile
ecosystems as a whole,” he added.
A DRRM champion, Abinales emphasized that ecological
solid waste management should be incorporated in all phases of DRRM strategy,
including, disaster prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and
rehabilitation and reconstruction.
“Attesting to the importance of ESWM was the recent risk
profiling of our community's vulnerable groups conducted last summer. Women, older persons, persons with
disabilities and youth singled out mismanaged waste as one disaster risk factor. Its consequences or impacts to our
communities include , clogged drainage and esteros, exposure to illness and
unhealthy environment,” he said.
"Ecological solid waste management is an essential
element of any DRRM strategy that has to be put in place even before a disaster
strikes, " he emphasized.
For his part, Daniel Alejandre, Zero Waste Campaigner of
the EcoWaste Coalition, called on all the Barangay Solid Waste Management
Boards (BSWMBs) to take the lead in
enforcing Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, as
part of the community preparation for typhoon Ompong.
“The vigorous enforcement of R.A. 9003, led by active
BSWMBs, will complement the DRRM efforts by the public and private sectors and
should be strongly supported by all as this will make the lives of everyone,
especially the vulnerable groups, cleaner and safer,” he said.
Both Buklod Tao and the EcoWaste Coalition expressed
their hopes that communities located in the path of typhoon Ompong will weather
the storm.
-end-
Reference:
http://emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/RA-9003.pdf
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