Essential references in solid waste management

THE GARBAGE BOOK:
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN METRO MANILA
PUBLISHED BY THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK IN 2004 (96 PAGES).
AVAILABLE IN THE ADB PUBLICATION INFORMATION CENTER, 6 ADB AVENUE, MANDALUYONG CITY 1550, PHILIPPINES. CONTACT THEM AT +632 6325894.

This coffee-table book illustrates the gravity of the solid waste problem of Metro Manila through an eye-catching layout with compelling photos and imaginative collages. Statistics are presented in creative ways; for example the volume of waste that Metro Manila will generate over the next 30 years is shown as a “…line of waste trucks going three times round the earth and over halfway to the moon.” This book is a tool for understanding, as well as a reminder of the urgent need for change in the system of solid waste management in Metro Manila. Read more »

*prices (except for glass) are based on the Philippine Business for the Environment’s Waste Market on April 2007

PAPER

About 12 percent of Metro Manila’s solid waste is paper. Unlike metal or glass, paper can only be recycled five to seven times before the wood fibers become too short and brittle to be made into new paper. Some types are harder to recycle than others. Papers that are waxed, pasted, gummed, or coated with plastic or aluminum foil are usually not recycled because the process is too expensive. Read more »

Landfills are not the answer to the garbage problem

By Ana and Joey Papa
Bangon Kalikasan Movement
www.bangonkalikasan.org

Landfills do not make for a waste-free environment. Waste volumes are synonymous with hauling, dumping, and tipping fees.

The ecological way of addressing the garbage problem is not through a landfill that only ends up as a “glorified dumpsite” but through the Ecology Center system of responsible producers, clean production, and people in households and the community who promote and practice waste prevention and reduction, sorting and segregation at source, reuse, recycling and composting.

The heart and soul of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, depends on the people whom the local authorities should harness instead of the dump truck; and to whom they should give the land for habitation and livelihood. Read more »