Waste Management in the Philippines

A testy topic for many I'm sure Cheryl.

When we purchased here 7 years ago there was a weekly garbage collection. 5 years ago when we moved here the same but for some reason when covid hit it all stopped and we had to beg the Barangay where we could take our rubbish for disposal as the collection stopped. The Barangay captain gave us the heads up where to take it and we did that for years.

8 to 10 months ago 2 lovely (choke) ladies came here from our Barangay advising that they were renewing the weekly collection and the previous area was now closed for disposal and explained that all the residents need to recycle and compost etc. etc. After 6 weeks Ben called them asking where is the garbage collection,,,,, we are waiting for the truck sir. Ben went to an open Barangay meeting many months ago fully armed with environmental issues and prepared to stand up to the Barangay, he was beaten  with 50 other people with the same issues,,,,,,, yes we will fix yes we will fix and still nada.

They won't tell us where to take the rubbish, they won't collect even though we pay for the service and fortunately we compost our wet/green waste/bones and the 10 black garbage bags have no food waste but are piling up as well as a couple of boxes of hard waste.

I remember our condo in Manila where we threw the garbage down the Shute and left the glass in the service room, funny as many times we went to the underground car park the skip was missing from where all the Shutes emptied to and piles of rubbish on the concrete floor festering. Doesn't seem to matter where you live there are problems here.

I have noticed more burning here including plastics since the brains trust implemented the new non working system. As for recycling and composting literature? you must be joking They can't pick up rubbish let alone advising Environmentally friendly waste management.

Very sad here.

Cheers, Steve.   

Sad but true. It's pretty bad on all levels, but I think there's growing awareness of the need to do better. When I first came to Cebu City in 2014 I would see people just throwing their plastic and trash on the street.. garbage was everywhere, and then when it rained hard the drains would all plug up and the place would flood. Still does. One significant problem is the massive use of "single-use" sachets for everything from laundry detergent to shampoo to coffee. It's a big part of their culture.

Up here in Valencia, which is semi-rural, garbage seems to pile up at the pickup locations until the truck comes once a week, in the meantime the street dogs get into it and make a mess. It's not supposed to be put out until pickup day but many probably do not have a secure place to keep it at home without drawing ants or other pests. I do not see much recycling up here though the place we live has collection.

In the greater Dumaguete metro area (post pandemic) they seem to be trying to do better, since the landfill was closed a few years ago. Recycling of household and commercial waste has begun (patchy implementation) and there is a main MRF and a few MRF's (Material Recycling Facility) being built in barangays. Also proper bins are actually beginning to pop up in a few places, but local adoption appears very slow and I see tons of plastic waste still going into the garbage or being burned by the locals.

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Waste management here is a problem and not addressed properly by both residents and municipalities. Here and Australia we always recycle and big on composting. Glass here is saved and we give it to the guys that collects every month, others want money for their bottles and jars so the guy loves us. I even tear up paper bags for the compost and bones we let dry and hit them with a hammer and thrown into the compost. we have worms here now not seen before. Bonus is dressing our compost into the veggie garden.

All our rubbish that the Barangay is supposed to collect weekly (not had a pick up for 6/8 weeks) is clean and stored, no ants, no cats or dogs.

I agree pnw that there does seem to be a concerted (semi) effort to clean up the country and waterways compared to 13 years ago. When I first met Bens mum and dad 12 years ago they had a sari store and we used to sit outside chatting, having a beer and I watched the buyers purchase and open the wrapper and drop it on the ground,,,, I mentioned to mum about this and she said this is how it is here. Yes mum and you are the one sweeping up the rubbish 2/3 times a day, why not put a rubbish bin (a 5 gallon bucket) either side of your serving area and the slap the kids/customers if they threw rubbish on the ground. A  year but she trained them well, for 10 years the streets are clean, the waterways have stopped being green and polluted and now they catch fish that they never saw all their lives,,,,,, not sure if I'd eat them but the can see the changes from concerted effort from all.

Bens mum pushed this issue for years with their Barangay and residents after our chat, She as a wise woman saw the future for her Barangay and people.

It really pisses me off why our Barangay that we pay for rubbish collection won't collect. Always the excuse is "can't find a truck" The locals seem to burn more these days. For 3 years the garbage collection stopped through Covid but they did tell us where the tip was. Now they won't tell us for some reason and I refuse to burn like many are resorting to.

Ben is out shopping but when he gets back I will remind him that the last Barangay meeting with a lot of disgruntled citizens and his numerous text msg's and calls seem to have fallen on deaf ears. It's frustrating.

Sorry for the rant.

Cheers, Steve.

So some good contributions from members living in the Philippines above and although I cannot comment on what happens over there, I can by reading the comments tell you some differences to the subject here in the UK.

here if you live in a house you are provided with three bins. One for general household waste, one for recycling and one garden waste bin. Emptying of the general waste and recycling bins is done weekly, one week for the recycling bin and the following for the general waste. My apartment block (just 2 storey) has two large recycling bins and four large general waste bins and this is for 18 flats.

We have several Household Waste Sites in the Bradford Area and a permit which is easy to obtain online is required when visiting them and items may be taken and disposed of free of charge for domestic properties. I use these sites if I need to dispose of larger items like an old microwave, TV, clothing, etc. Large bulky items that I cannot get in my car like fridge freezers, arm chairs, sofas and bed bases, I can arrange for the council to pick up and dispose of for a fee. When buying new goods most companies will remove your old appliance or furniture for a fee and this can be done online if buying online. There are also   private companies who will remove items for a fee but they must have a Waste Carriers Licence to do so.

Shops and Businesses are required to make their own  arrangements and must have a commercial bin or bins and pay for regular collections.

Local Councils employ Environmental Enforcement Officers who investigate environmental crime like fly tipping and also check that shops and businesses comply with the regulations and carry out checks. They also tackle problems like littering and dog fouling and in the worst cases letters are issued followed by legal notices and in some cases prosecution  cases are initiated. I know because I used to do this work. Environmental Officers will also give talks in schools to try educate the kids and arrange for litter picks and also be involved with joint operations with Police to check on waste carries to see if they have the necessary  licence to transport waste.

Litter bins are plentiful and street cleaning and litter picking runs on a schedule so streets should be cleaned on a regular basis. The city itself is cleaned daily and litter pickers are there to clear up all the rubbish left from the night before.

That said, litter is still dropped because some people just cannot be bothered to dispose of it correctly and fly tipping is still a big problem and even more so now the Local Councils charge for the removal of bulky items. It was a free service at one time at least here.

Lastly we still have the good old Rag & Bone man who goes round with his horse and cart and collects things he can make money on. Back in the day there was a popular TV show about this called Steptoe & Son.

@Cherryann01

try ipmlementing that in ph haha

Well, it's a poor country, can't compare to the UK or US really, where we not only have more resources, but proper mechanisms to  pass costs through to customers.. I feel that (here in PI) they are beginning to educate the people, but there is a long way to go and resources are thin, so many of the projects (recycling, etc) have to be somewhat self-funding.

I will add that the area we live in during the school year (the greater Dumaguete metro) is a lot cleaner than Cebu City was, and Valencia has very little trash or litter on the ground, so at least some of the people have gotten the message, although too bad about all the burning still done.. It takes time to change a culture.

Idealistic CA and does work in western countries very well but not here. We have had discussions with the Barangay and they sprout "we only have 2 trucks to service 47 Barangays" funny because our and the neighbours rubbish is collected "if ever" with a kurong-kurong, motor bike with an attached shopping cart, never seen a truck here and 8 weeks since the last pick up, good we only dispose of dry goods and compost the rest.

Sad thing is we suggested they raise the garbage collection rate from a measly 240 pesos a year to P 1K per year,,,,,, no sir half won't even pay the 240 pesos, we can't do that. Tell us where we can take our rubbish then after you closed the last recycle drop off that we used for years, no sir it's a secret, keep your waste until we can get a truck there. Many calls and nada.

Before there was no burning of trash unlike other municipalities but now many burn including plastics, waste management has fallen over compared to 4/5 years ago and no one is addressing the problem, too hard it seems.

Frustrating and we seem to have no choice except deal with it. Try keeping extra plastics out from your purchases, already in plastic and they shove it in another plastic bag even though we supply cold bags and reusable bags we give to the packer and the cashier ignores and goes through the blind mindset. Education.

Cheers, Steve.

Yes pnw a poor country that has no need to double plastic wrap every item, think of the savings and less trash.

When I went to school we learnt not to litter, not to waste, string bags back then saved on paper and then plastics, that was over 50 years ago.

Like you we are lucky here as the streets and beach is clean and seems people mostly care. The rubbish on the beach is picked up by us and TUPAD (dole) weekly and from observations the rubbish droppers are visitors that will probably never return so have little care, one wonders if they live like that in their own home/environment.

I remember chatting with our Capitan Rene 4/5 years ago would it be OK for us to build and install 3 or 4 steel rubbish bins along our beach. I was admonished... you don't think we tried that? They either become fire pits or stolen, much better the TUPAD system and keeps people employed for their family needs, yes sir.

I simply can't understand how we went from a weekly pick up  to nothing after Covid, fully understand the reasons through Covid but not now.

Sorry for the whine.

Cheers, Steve.

Why don't they let you dump it yourself at whichever location the trucks would take it?

    Why don't they let you dump it yourself at whichever location the trucks would take it?
   

    -@jozica

You tell me. The regular collection stopped and for 3 years we took our rubbish to the recycle station and they then closed that a year ago. They refuse to tell us where to take it and to simply wait for their collection, 8 weeks on we have 8 black plastic bags full and 2 boxes full of hard waste. Text msgs go unanswered and I said to Ben let's dump it all in front of the Barangay office,,,,,, I was slapped severely and then some. The system has fallen over/failed the people.

No need to say more, it seems to be an internal issue that can't be or won't be addressed, like going back 50 or more years and to date unresolved.

Cheers, Steve.

Yes agree that garbage is a big problem no matter where you are in PH. Here we garbage collection in part of the city, the other side have to manage how they see fit and that is burning with somedays really suffocating smoke. People with babies simply burry the nappies, wonder how long before the aquifers gets polluted.

What we do, also have to burn as we do not know where to dump, nobody tells us, so I am burning waste in a little steel burner modified from a old LPG gas bottle. The metal, glass and carton gets pick up by the recycle guy, no payment to us, i cannot accept that, its all to him.

So yes its a big challenge, but i have managed in our sub division to stop the littering, provided some buckets for garbage cans and people have changed especially kids which is satisfying to watch.

It's a simple thing to manage waste control for thinking persons. Say no more.

We only from time to time burn excess leaves and cuttings that can't be incorporated into the compost.

4/5years ago was rare to see/smell burning off but since the Barangay truck up (won't talk to any one) there are many more people burning their rubbish including plastics. Perhaps a mission to pursue for Ben and I.

Cheers, Steve.

It seems very reasonable the Philippines to start garbage collection fees. The fees will then support the dump sites, recycling, incenerators, etc, etc. I do not believe any politician will push for this gabage collection fees for I think this will be a career killer. They don't look at near term benefits.

Municipal waste managenent could be a profitable business if the housing community supported it. Much like an HOA fee requirement, waste management could be supported by the local community which in turn would fund trash vehicles,  laborers, equipment and a dump site 

Without understanding how the tax system works in the province areas, i would not  know how this could be supported financially if the operational costs exceeded that of which they could collect without some type of municipal funding system 

    Municipal waste managenent could be a profitable business if the housing community supported it. Much like an HOA fee requirement, waste management could be supported by the local community which in turn would fund trash vehicles,  laborers, equipment and a dump site 
Without understanding how the tax system works in the province areas, i would not  know how this could be supported financially if the operational costs exceeded that of which they could collect without some type of municipal funding system 
   

    -@daytradersteve13

Any organized crime family (or politician's family) in the Philippines should be able handle this garbage collection business. 🤣

That stinks.

Thanks for the reply 

While we pay our land and buildings rates to the municipality every year it appears that each of the 47 Barangays manage the garbage for their area and collect the fees by knocking on your door, always the 2 ladies that work there.

I have been thinking about approaching the municipal office about the problem to gain some sensible advice as our Barangay seems to have dropped the ball.

Cheers, Steve.

Cheryl kindly writes,

"As an expat in the Philippines, waste management can often pose challenges and requires an understanding of local standards and regulations. Understanding local practices is essential for environmental compliance and seamless integration into daily life."

True Cheryl and for many barangays, waste management need include sewerage.

EDITORIAL — The Philippine Star  January 27th, 2024  (snipped for brevity)

https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2024/01/27/2328906/editorial-no-water-drink

.. Yesterday, an official of the Department of Environment said at least 40 million Filipinos still lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities.

Undersecretary Carlos David said only 74 million Filipinos have access to potable water and that 3.8 million people still practice open defecation.

The most acute lack is recorded in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, where approximately 27 percent of residents lack piped water while 20 percent still defecate in the open, David said.

While many local governments have passed ordinances prohibiting open defecation, the ban cannot be enforced because of the lack of sanitation facilities, according to David.

David said at least P250 billion is needed to significantly expand coverage for potable water and sanitation facilities.

This problem of a lack of sanitation facilities has been around since the first Marcos administration. It would be a notable accomplishment if the problem would be sufficiently addressed during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

--

Waste in general is definitely a problem here. Late at night, many big trucks from Cebu City travel to the southern provinces and dump the garbage.........that's 100's of trucks per week. Many of the locals spend their time picking through the garbage for metal, glass and plastic......to take to junk shops for money. These junk shops do the same......pick through everything, hoping to sell to another buyer. Honestly, I don't know what the "final" buyer does with these materials. Maybe there are factories that can crush and melt down these materials............package them, then ship to another factory for making useful products....

Glass and plastic are materials that can be crushed and made into construction materials, which can be very useful and affordable. For a business opportunity like this, you might only need a crusher machine and an extruding machine.....and some good labor.

A recycling company would be a good ifea  Glass,  plastic,  cardboard, etc 

    A recycling company would be a good ifea  Glass,  plastic,  cardboard, etc 
   

    -@daytradersteve13

They are called Junk shops here and private enterprises. Most/many countries have government controls on waste management and seems to work.

Here all our glass/steel goes to the junk shop and bigger cardboard and styrene goes to the Fishermans village and our green waste is composted and the rest is not collected, hopeless.

Cheers, Steve.

No problem at all here in the province, you did a big hole put your trash in and burn it, food waist there is always an animal around to get it, when the hole is full of ash you dig another

We only bury the dog sh1t here, quite deep and eventually another garden. Others burn plastics and disposable nappies and as a blow in can't say any thing for their choice. Sometimes educating people is difficult.

Cheers, Steve.

         We used to burn our trash in Shillington, PA until 1960 when an ordinance was passed banning it.  Lucky for us here in Manueva most of the trash burning takes place across the National Highway.  Many burn trash on Sunday instead of attending Mass.

So true mugteck, as a kid we had a 44 gallon steel incinerator and burnt everything but come 1970 we gained a rubbish collection every week, paper wastes were still collected and burnt at least once a month, mid 70's recycle bins were introduced and we got rid of the incinerator. So near 50 years ago no need to burn.

My batch is that we are paying for rubbish collection and now 9 black garbage bags (clean waste) and a few boxes of hard rubbish including cardboard.

As said the system here has fallen over ever since Covid.

Cheers, Steve.

In the states several times I've seen people throwing KFC chicken bones out the car window. (in the KFC parking lot).

Once on a domestic flight (states) I've seen a couple eating fried chicken they brought on the flight. (paper bag)

    In the states several times I've seen people throwing KFC chicken bones out the car window. (in the KFC parking lot).
Once on a domestic flight (states) I've seen a couple eating fried chicken they brought on the flight. (paper bag)
   

    -@Enzyte Bob

Did the couple throw the chicken bones out of the airplane?

Move to Legazpi City!! They won an award in the Philippines for taking care of ercycling.. We have to recycle everything, otherwise we get a fine, a little strict but at least it helps!  It works very well in our Barangay. If you don't move here, at least you can tell your community to follow our rules.

@FM

I did like Legazpi when working down that way a long time ago but settled up here to be near family (but not too near).

Recycling is great trouble here is they can't even pick up rubbish how would the manage recycling?

As said the system worked well for a few years and then fell over.

Cheers, Steve.

             Looking forward to October when we hope to be moving into a development about 4 clicks outside of Baguio.  They charge 30 pesos a week for trash and garbage collection.  Hope to report back with good news then.  Will be interested to see what kind of security we will get for our 150 pesos a month  housing dues.  Supposedly on duty 24/7

@mugteck

Bet you can't wait mate, I'm sure you will be fine with your rubbish collection as well as security. Baguio seems to be a good place to live.

As for rubbish collection here it's 5 pesos per week, we asked the Barangay as their system has disintegrated why not up the fees to help fund? "No sir no one will pay, only half pay now" In the mean time it's been 10/11 weeks since the last pick up and we have quite a collection of dry trash building up and still no answers, the last Barangay meeting Ben went there to tear strips off them and he didn't say a thing, so many pissed off residents got in first, that was over 2 months ago.

For near 3 years we simply took our rubbish to the recycle station every week and then they closed it down as too many people were dumping putrid waste and dead animals.

I saw this happening even in Manila when we lived there. Simply it seems waste management is low on the agenda here.

When we first moved here 5 years ago it was rare to smell smoke from a fire and was usually leaf and cuttings burn off. The last 12 months the amount of fires has doubled and now plastics, great for the environment. Not sure where this will end due to incompetency from the supposed leaders of our little community. 

I've whined enough, sorry.

Cheers, Steve.

        Why don't they let you dump it yourself at whichever location the trucks would take it?        -@jozica

You tell me. The regular collection stopped and for 3 years we took our rubbish to the recycle station and they then closed that a year ago. They refuse to tell us where to take it and to simply wait for their collection, 8 weeks on we have 8 black plastic bags full and 2 boxes full of hard waste. Text msgs go unanswered and I said to Ben let's dump it all in front of the Barangay office,,,,,, I was slapped severely and then some. The system has fallen over/failed the people.

No need to say more, it seems to be an internal issue that can't be or won't be addressed, like going back 50 or more years and to date unresolved.

Cheers, Steve.
   

    -@bigpearl

Steve, you and I think a like.  My first thought was to dump in at the Barungy office.  I am careful as I am a guest in this beautiful country but back home that is how I would handle it.

Donald

Donald expressed that...  My first thought was to dump in at the Barungy office.  I am careful as I am a guest in this beautiful country but back home that is how I would handle it.

OMG, the barangay (not Barungy lol) would easily find out who did it. Offend the Barangay captain? 🤣 He/she is a respected government official who would inform BIR who would likely declare you an undesirable alien and possibly deport you (they would dislike you) after making you pay for clean up. You also might end up in the Barangay or municipality jail. Does this mean you have less power here than you do at home? Yes, absolutely. You say you are a guest but that wouldn't last long. Of course you have enough common sense to not do it but your attitude fails to recognize that this is not a wealthy country so you often have to come up with the money yourself to purchase private services and not complain about it. Do you pay taxes to the municipality or barangay, i.e. property taxes? Only if you do will you have any standing to even complain to the barangay.

@danfinn

Please dont missunderstand me.  I was not suggesting doing it here.  Like I said, I am a guest in this country and appreciate the opportunity.  I was referring to doing it back home.  Case in point, we often hear of people who don't pick up after their dogs and someone catches them, collects dog shit and dumps it on their front door.  Don't we all love the way that kind of karma can "educate" a person.  It has happened at city hall in my home country on occasion working great, and other times not so well.

Liking the idea.... GOOD

Planning to do it....  NOT A CHANCE

Laughing if it happens... ABSOLUTELY

    @danfinn
Please dont missunderstand me.  I was not suggesting doing it here.  Like I said, I am a guest in this country and appreciate the opportunity.  I was referring to doing it back home.  Case in point, we often hear of people who don't pick up after their dogs and someone catches them, collects dog shit and dumps it on their front door.  Don't we all love the way that kind of karma can "educate" a person.  It has happened at city hall in my home country on occasion working great, and other times not so well.

Liking the idea.... GOOD
Planning to do it....  NOT A CHANCE
Laughing if it happens... ABSOLUTELY
   

    -@AlbertaDonuts

I never did think the dog crap pranks you mentioned were funny or instructive in any way because it lacks being clever. Clever can be funny. Burning dog sh!t on a front porch is a pitiful act and is totally lacking in class. I suppose the uneducated really love such activities.

Dan our Barangay has promised 3 times now they will pick up our 11, pushing 12 weeks of garbage, they have even given the dates and never turn up. We pay for collection, nada. They won't tell us where to take it like we did and others did for years.

We have even offered to pay extra for a contractor (their choice) to collect, nada. fortunately we recycle and compost so all the gathering rubbish is not smelly but taking up a heap of space now.

Ben deals with them and he is far more polite than I would be,,,, better I keep my distance, no ruffled feathers.

No answers, no action so what to do?

Cheers, Steve.

    Dan our Barangay has promised 3 times now they will pick up our 11, pushing 12 weeks of garbage, they have even given the dates and never turn up. We pay for collection, nada. They won't tell us where to take it like we did and others did for years.We have even offered to pay extra for a contractor (their choice) to collect, nada. fortunately we recycle and compost so all the gathering rubbish is not smelly but taking up a heap of space now.Ben deals with them and he is far more polite than I would be,,,, better I keep my distance, no ruffled feathers.No answers, no action so what to do?Cheers, Steve.        -@bigpearl

Well I would advise you continue to let Ben deal with them just as I always let Bel deal with Filipino matters that might involve "controversy". With Americans she may appear to be more alpha but anytime it involves controversy with Filipinos, it is all polite, smiles, beta treatment...she knows the culture and keeps me out of trouble. As for the garbage, no solution other than to mention that,  what we do during periods of no pickup is have the helpers burn everything in a pile in the the back yard. They know how to do it well and I may have read somewhere that it is technically illegal but we are in a rural area and Filipino residences nearby often burn and they are careful about smoke and wind direction. Currently our garbage pickup is functional although the garbage has to be hauled about 100 meters to the main road.

Yes Dan, I learnt that many many years ago, appears us foreigners are too forthright and often doesn't work. Ben at times gets the sh1ts with me because I won't go shopping with him for big ticket items, he Susses them out, sends me a pic or video and then haggles for the best price, once locked in then sometimes I will go and look, most times he simply buys, seems to save money.

As for garbage collection it seems his negotiating skills are not working.

Cheers, Steve.