The country is projected to generate approximately 24.49 million metric tons of waste by 2045 unless steps are taken to address its causes, according to a Commission on Audit (COA) study released earlier this year.
That same COA study showed that in the six-year period from 2015 to 2020, the total estimated waste generation grew by 33.36 percent, or at a rate of 5.56 percent annually.
What’s unfortunate to note is that the country’s solid waste problem keeps on growing despite the passage of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. This law calls for the proper segregation and disposal of waste. Under the law, local government units (LGUs) are also mandated to properly dispose of garbage collected from various sources, including households. Despite fines and imprisonment for violators, it is apparent these have not served as deterrent.
With this mounting garbage problem, it is incumbent upon everyone to play his or her role in addressing the garbage problem. And helping solve or at least mitigate the problem begins at home — in the family, the basic institution of the society.
In the COA report, it was cited that 9.07 million metric tons of solid waste was generated in 2006 and the figure almost doubled to 16.63 million metric tons in 2020. And based on projections, solid waste will increase to 19.76 million metric tons in 2030 and up to 24.5 million metric tons in 2045.
“Therefore, assuming a steady rate of waste generation, solid waste production shall continue to increase in future years, negating its goal of reducing waste,” the COA said in the report.
The COA cited at least seven major causes attributed to the failure to reduce waste over the years. These are: interventions to reduce the waste generators (households and industrial/commercial); increasing population, with challenges in family planning, especially in urban areas; lack of studies on materials with reusability/recyclability that can be promoted; dependence on single-use items without exception to non-environmentally acceptable (NEAP) products, especially in urban areas; waste imports from developed countries were still enforced in the absence of ratification of the Basel Ban Amendment; insufficient solid waste facilities to help divert and safely dispose of solid wastes, among others.
Waste management is not the sole responsibility of the state, it should be everyone’s concern — a whole-of-nation obligation. It should begin at home, in offices, in industrial centers, and in every corner.
Let’s all do our part in solving this waste problem. We can begin with the segregation of our garbage and then start reducing, re-using, and recycling. That would be a big help in addressing our garbage problem.
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Soneva Jani, Noonu Atoll, Maldives. (Unsplash) 
