ABSTRACT
This study aimed to determine the waste management practices alongside with the problems encountered in management of solid waste and proposed an intervention program to improve the solid waste management practices in MSFIS in partnership with PETRON Corporation, PGENRO and MENRO. The participants of this study were the 7 teachers and 144 junior high school learners from the total population of 224 junior high school for the School Year 2024-2025. Utilizing the descriptive researcher-made questionnaire in gathering data, respondents were convened in the ICT room and answered the google link provided to them.
Based on the results, it was concluded that respondents have good waste management practices in terms of reusing waste which they always practiced while they frequently practiced waste reduction; waste disposal; waste separation and recycling of waste. Meanwhile, they agreed that the school have implemented strategies with regards to waste management such recycling of papers; installation of three colored bins for waste segregation; installation of MRF for safekeeping of recyclable materials; collection of plastic waste by the SSLG and YES-O officers for fund drive; and coordination with MENRO for regular schedule of garbage collection. They also encountered problems such as failure to follow the proper ways in disposing biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes; do not have enough knowledge on proper solid waste management; irregular collection of waste materials; throwing of solid waste materials anywhere and time constraint in waste segregation. It was recommended that the solid waste management practices in school must be given attention and taken seriously by the students; conduct training/seminar to student leaders on solid waste management; implementation of Project: CUBE to improve the solid waste management practices in school.
Key Words: Material Recovery Facility (MRF), Solid Waste Management Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Waste Segregation, Youth for Environment in Schools Organization (YES-O), Supreme Secondary Learners Government (SSLG), Eco-banking and Upcycling of Solid Waste (CUBE)
Context and Rationale
Solid waste management is one of the pressing environmental problems in the Philippines. The country’s solid waste management program observed to have not achieved its goal since its implementation 20 years ago as mentioned by Commission on Audit (COA) in their April 2023 Performance Audit Report. Solid waste as defined by Atienza cited from Laquian (2005:187) as “materials leftover after productive used of things that could no longer be utilized for the purpose for which they were meant”. According to Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (ESWMA) of 2000 solid waste refers to wastes from households, construction debris, commercial establishments, agricultural sectors, and non- hazardous and non-toxic wastes from institutions and industries”.
Coracero, 2021 et al emphasized in their study that the country’s solution to address the solid waste problems is the Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (ESWMA) of 2000 enacted to ensure the proper segregation, collection, transport, storage, treatment and disposal of solid waste through the formulation and adoption of the best environmental practice in ecological waste management excluding incineration; to promote national research and development programs for improved solid waste management and resource conservation techniques, more effective institutional arrangement and indigenous and improved methods of waste reduction, collection, separation and recovery (RA No. 9003, 2001)
RA No. 9003 highlights the practices of segregation and proper disposal of the solid waste defined above which implemented in all government units including public schools through the school-based solid waste management program but “instead of reducing the solid waste generation steadily increased through the years” as reported by COA.
In support the program of the national government on the implementation of solid waste management, the Department of Education (DepEd) issued DepEd Order No. 5, s. 2014 Implementing Guidelines on the Integration of Gulayan sa Paaralan, Solid Waste Management and Tree Planting under the National Greening Program (NGP). Ecological Solid Waste Management in School (ESWMS) aims to incorporate ecological waste management in the school level systems at all levels, emphasizing on the involvement of teaching and non-teaching staff , and the students in school wide and nearby community waste management actions; every school shall practice waste management principles in order to promote environmental awareness and action among students; and integrate curricula waste management concepts pursuant to Republic Act RA 9512, entitled “An Act to Promote Environmental Education and for Other Purposes”.
Cristobal, 2022 says that “the key to practice proper solid waste management to the next generation is through education”. It is true because the researcher once a science teacher for number of years and very passionate in teaching environmental awareness to the learners. Proper waste management and caring for environment are part of the lesson in Araling Panlipunan, EPP, TLE & Health. Topics in waste management aim to teach learners on recycling and its importance.
Learners become more aware on the principles of waste management due to the issuance of DO No. 010, s. 2016 Policy and Guidelines for the Comprehensive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools (WINS) Program. One of the salient features of this program is about sanitation wherein all school shall maintain cleanliness and safety in and the immediate vicinity of the school premises through school-based solid waste management. Even if learners are educated in school, still problem of waste management was evident that contributed significantly in the increasing solid waste problem in our municipality.
As validated report from the Mabini MENRO office, the town of Mabini has no sanitary landfill for the disposal of the collected solid waste from different barangays and schools so they need to pay millions of pesos for a month to other town in Batangas with legal dumpsite operation. However, the MENRO believed that their campaign to reduce and manage waste in all barangays and in school in particular through the partnership and coordination with different civic minded individuals and private companies and other agencies for the intervention program for waste management will lessen at least 40% of the amount of expenses for waste disposal.
Mainaga-San Francisco Integrated School is one of the big schools in Mabini Sub-Office which composed of 25 elementary and junior high school teachers, 6 non-teaching personnel and 741 learners from KS1 to KS3. The increasing population in MSFIS contributed to the generation of waste in school as observed by the researcher. For the last three years, when junior high school are not yet integrated, the generated solid waste in the school are about three to four sacks of different solid waste materials but as of this year starting August 2024 the number of sacks with solid waste materials ranged from 5 to 10 big sacks of solid waste materials such as plastic bottle of water, sachet of fruit juice and biscuits, paper cups and papers.
The school administration coordinated with the Municipal Environmental and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) and barangay officials for the schedule of waste collection in school and apparently it is every Tuesday only. Since there is only one-day collection of waste in the barangay where the school is located, the generation of waste is getting doubled every day, in result more sacks of waste are dumped outside the school waiting for another Tuesday for the sacks of waste to be collected. This scenario is repeated every week which caused an eyesore in the school community.
This situation on waste management problem captured the attention of the researcher to conduct a study to improve the waste management practices of junior high school learners and proposed an intervention program in waste management in partnership with PETRON Corporation, Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office (PGENRO) and Municipal Environmental and Natural Resources Office (MENRO).
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