ISWM: Tackling the waste challenge 

Town officials are working on the waste problem by putting waste to work. 

They are doing this by introducing a systematic method of managing waste using a four step process: segregation, collection, recovery, and disposal. 

Segregation is done at source, that is, in individual homes.  Families are required to separate their waste into two receptacles: one for biodegrable materials and another for non-biodegradable.  Biodegradable waste can be dumped in backyard pits, giving nature time to work on waste and turning it to useful fertilizers.  Even a big clay pot can do the job for kitchen waste such as peelings and food left-overs.

 Collection of non-biodegradable waste is a service given to barangays for a fee. For Barangay Poblacion, for example, the town provides 2 dump trucks making the round of streets assigned on certain days for collection. 

It is in the third step that the phrase “there is money in garbage” turns real.  Recovery of recyclable materials such as paper, plastics, and metals can be an income earner.  This happens at a designated dumpsite.  From a study done by the planning office, it was learned that about 21% of Ipil’s waste can be re-used and recycled.

 The rest of the waste must be properly disposed of in a sanitary landfill.  The operation of this landfill is the most sensitive part in solid waste management.

 ISWM

Integrated Solid Waste Management is another one of those programs the town is venturing into after its capability building seminars provided by the Local Government Support Program (LGSP). 

LGSP provided funding and technical expertise to help the town’s planning and development office and a rainbow of stakeholders craft a 10 year solid waste management plan for Ipil.

 The result is a primer with very specific objectives.  In 2005, the 8000 square meter open dump currently in use will be closed and a controlled sanitary landfill will be established in its stead the following year. 

Another development will be the creation of the Solid Waste Management section under the supervision of the municipal administrator, to be followed by the creation of the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) by year 2007. 

While all these are going on, a massive information and education campaign will be launched to promote social cooperation in the implementation of the ISWM plan.

 This solid waste management plan is envisioned to transform Ipil into a “community living in harmony with nature, promoting peace and clean environment through dynamic governance with the constituents enjoying their rights to a good and healthy environment and other basic social services and sustained ecological balance.”

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