Review of Related Literature

Solid Waste Management is one of the primary problems the Philippines is facing right
now. People discard their trashes from their homes that do not fit in with its “flow” of
garbage. Thus, some recyclable ends up in the non-recyclable bin heading to the
landfills or worst some of the garbage are dumped anywhere; it could be in the rivers,
seas, and canals that bring pollution to our environment. In any case, the garbage of
every barangay that is not segregated properly can cause trouble when calamities or
disaster come. Being a country that is being hit with at least 20 typhoons a year, this is
an issue that the local government unit must give action immediately and must assess
as to how and what should be done.

“An act providing for an ecological solid waste management program, creating the
necessary institutional mechanisms and incentives, declaring certain acts prohibited
and providing penalties, appropriating funds therefore, and for other purposes” (
Republic Act 9003, 2001)

“The implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this Act (Republic Act 9003)
shall be the primary responsibility of the Local Government Units (LGUs) within their
respective jurisdictions as stipulated in the RA 7160, otherwise known as the Local
Government Code of 1991. The law also mandates that segregation and collection of
solid waste shall be conducted at the barangay level while collection of non-recyclable
materials and special wastes shall be the duty of the municipality or city.”(Gequinto,
2016)

”In the Philippines, the municipal office is responsible for the management of the solid
waste of its constituents. Management of waste from collection, storage, processing,
transport, and disposal is important for both public health, aesthetic, as well as
environmental reasons. Waste is referred to as anything discarded by an individual,
household, or establishment which is composed of a complex mixture of different
substances in which some are basically hazardous to health“ (Rushton 2003).

“RA 9003 has placed a burden in municipalities; most of them have difficulties in
implementing its rules and regulations. Inspite of the difficulties in the implementation of
RA 9003, the municipality of Los Baños has vigorously implemented its solid waste
management program. The Municipality has developed a systematic approach in the
formulation of the SWM plan. Meeting and organizing different sectors and agencies
were conducted. These include the 14 barangays, science community, business
establishments, home owners and resort owners, religious organizations, junkshops,
gasoline stations, repair/battery shops, car wash, supply stores, lumber, hardware,
hospitals, clinics, laboratories, schools (public and private), market, funeral parlors and
cemeteries, computer, cell phone and DVD stores, and transport associations. A
dialogue with Philippine Plastics Industry Association (PPIA) and Polystyrene
Packaging Council of the Philippines (PPCP) was also conducted last September 2004
to be able to address the issue on plastic waste materials in the Municipality. After a
year, the open dump site has been converted into an ecological waste processing
center in June 2004, earlier than the set due date in RA 9003” (Perez 2003)

“The problem of solid waste management (SWM) had always been the burden of the
local government unit. However, such burden cannot be carried alone by most of the
municipalities, and most of them had failed in the implementation of the SWM plan.
There are several reasons for the failure in the implementation of the SWM. These
include limited financial resources, lack of political will, lack of technical knowledge
about recent technologies, and lack of cooperation and participation of the
community.”(Atienza 2001).

“Solid Waste Management can be defined as a discipline associated with the control of
generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing and disposal of solid
wastes. The primary goals of sustainable waste management are to protect human
health and the environment and to conserve resources. Additional goals include
prevention include prevention of the export of waste related problems into the future and
socially acceptable waste management practices.”( Ismail, Razali, Abdullah, Kamarudin,
Rais, and Salleh)

While recycling through the establishment of Municipal Recovery Facilities (MRF), that
includes waste transfer station, and composting and recycling facilities, is mandated
under RA 9003, most Local Government Units (LGUs) do not comply with this mandate.
Even though the law requires the establishment of an MRF in every barangay or cluster
of barangays, only about 21% or 8,843 barangays are being serviced by MRFs in the
country. (Castillo, 2013)

The status of Solid Waste Management (SWM) is a critical to set what should be done
by the government and private sectors for better results and better policy making. (Vivar
et.al, 2015)
With Green Politics and Rational-Choice Theory, as the theories, and RA 9003
(ECOSWAM), as the legal basis, solid waste management is produced. The Local
Government Unit/LGU is responsible for enacting and securing the proper solid waste
management. The National Government in vested local autonomy to LGU‟s to make
them effective partners in achieving national goals includes LGU‟s to facilitate solid
waste management. (Vivar, 2015)

Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal of

waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and
is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, aesthetics or amenity. Waste
management is also carried out to reduce the materials' effect on the environment and
to recover resources from them. It can also involve solid, liquid or gaseous substances,
with different methods and fields of expertise for each. (Azuelo, et.al, 2016)

Varying readiness in each municipality, barangay officials and households in the

implementation of waste segregation strategies can be attributed to the performance
and political will of the local officials. Without the support of the local officials, programs
such as Ecological Solid Waste Management Act will not go any further than the
existing method of mixed collection and open dumping of wastes. (Azuelo, et.al, 2016)