INTRODUCTION
School Environment means the extent to which school settings promote student safety and student health, which may include topics such as the physical plant, the academic environment, available physical and mental health supports and services, and the fairness and adequacy of disciplinary procedures, as supported by relevant research and an assessment of validity.
The physical environment of school buildings and school grounds is a key factor in the overall health and safety of students, staff, and visitors. School buildings and grounds must be designed and maintained to be free of health and safety hazards, and to promote learning. This study was purposively conducted to provide this key factor to all the clienteles of Balayan East Central School situated at Paz Street, Balayan, Batangas through the implementation of Project: SARP (Segregating and Recycling Program).
METHODS
This study employed the descriptive research method. This method describes the nature of a situation as it exists at the time of the study and explores the causes of particular phenomena through the results of the survey questionnaire for the 2,470 respondents represented by their respective class advisers. Consolidation of the response determined the source of the problem on the school’s waste management. An approval to conduct the study was requested from the School Principal and other school clienteles.
RESULTS
Results of the data gathered showed that Balayan East Central School has guidelines/policy on waste management. These guidelines/policies were disseminated well to the school populace through GPTA and HRPTA meetings. Out of 2,353 (Two Thousand Three Hundred Fifty-three) population of learners, only 70% or 1,647 (One Thousand Six Hundred Forty-seven) of the school population followed the school guidelines/policies.
As a means of garbage disposal, there are small trash bins installed in each classroom intended for plastic wastes, paper, and leaves but are not enough to keep all the waste inside them. In addition, the school has a compost pit but the area is limited due to lack of space. The LGU Department in-charge of waste collection do the job once or twice a week.
As a result of the situations cited above, the school is really encountering problems the way the school populace manages their wastes as evidenced by the litters of trashes found around the school grounds, some are inserted in potted plants, thrown in canals, wastes collected from the trash bins and placed in trash bags ready for collection by the garbage trucks of the local government unit in-charge are most of the time attacked by stray animals and usually attract harmful insects since these are not collected every day, the school rarely conducts symposium on waste management, pupils in the intermediate grades are more aware than those in the primary grades, the school conducts recycling activities only during Scouting Week and when teachers in MSEP do Arts activities that need the usage of recyclable materials and pupils in the higher grades and lower grades have still insufficient knowledge on garbage segregation.
DISCUSSIONS
Research study revealed that the school is truly encountering problem on proper waste management by the school populace. The researchers applied interventions to solve the problem in maintaining the cleanliness of the school by the school populace. These interventions focused on the rigid re- dissemination to all the pupils of the guidelines/policy of the school on waste management, conduct of symposium on the proper waste management particularly waste segregation and recycling through the Project: SARP (Segregation and Recycling Program), instruct each pupil to bring his/her own trash bags as to where his/her own wastes will be kept properly segregated and take the trash bags every day to their home, discuss the Project: SARP to the parents of the pupils during PTA meetings and solicit their support in the application of the program by their children in their respective homes and in school, install big trash bins around the school labelled as PAPERS, (Mga Papel), BIODEGRADABLES (Nabubulok – Mga bahagi ng halaman at mga damo), RECYCLABLES (Magagamit Pa – Empty Plastic & Bottle Containers & Metal Scraps) and REFUSE (Patapon – Balutan ng mga Pagkain- Paper and Plastic Food Wrappers), conduct recycling activities in a form of a contest to motivate more the pupils to put into practice the new waste management program of the school like Lantern-making contest using recyclable materials, etc.and elderly school clienteles serve as role models in the application of the Project: SARP.
This program greatly helped to reduce the volume of wastes in school and further educated the school populace of the proper waste management.
Keywords: maintaining, cleanliness, BECS populace, segregating and recycling