18 days. Zero Waste.

All I needed was 18 days to change my perspective.  I was indifferent towards campaigns raising awareness about zero waste.  Then, I did not think of it as a major problem that I need to give my time to until this whole practicum thing happened. 

To begin with, I signed up for a different company.  But, I ended up in MEF because I was not around during the practicum orientation and the advisers prioritized people who were present then. A week before deployment, we (me and my co-interns) had our orientation with MEF.  We were asked about our expectations. Honestly, everything that happened in my three weeks of stay in Pampanga was not what I expected.  Turned out,  I was in for a surprise and it is what made the whole experience remarkable. 

Our first day in Pampanga was normal. We met the MEF Pampanga staff, who we will be working with for almost a month. We were trained and briefed about the basics. Zero Waste. What exactly is Zero Waste? Why do MEF staff do what they do? Is Zero Waste possible? 

No garbage. It was what I thought when I heard the term Zero Waste. After our training, I realized how ignorant I was. Truth be told, it is impossible not to produce any trash. Just in the household level, enormous amount of garbage is produced. Well, most of you would ask, who am I kidding? How ironic that I just mentioned it is impossible to not produce trash and yet I am going to tell you that Zero Waste is possible. First, let's define Zero Waste. Translating it to Filipino, Zero Waste would mean "walang sayang". It is but the simplest way to put it.  Zero Waste can be achieved by redesigning the cycle of products that we use.  We easily throw away things we deem useless. Little did we know that most of our so called trash can still be put to good use. And for me, the easiest way to attain zero waste is to segregate our wastes. 

We produce different types of waste. These wastes can be divided to four and there are many ways how these different types of wastes can still be turned to something useful. First is the biodegradable waste such as kitchen wastes. These would include leftover foods, fruit and vegetable peelings, fish and chicken bones. These wastes can be used as compost. Instead of buying fertilizer for your backyard gardening, these are actually best as they are organic and rich in nutrients. Second is the recyclables which includes bottles, glass, papers, cartons and other trash of the like. They can be sold to junk shops or you can simply use your imagination on how these trash can still be used. Third is the residuals which includes plastics, Styrofoam, sachets, tetra packs and the like. We can lessen the use of plastics by using eco-bags. Meanwhile, we can reduce the production of residuals by buying products in big containers instead of those in sachets and tetra packs. Lastly, we have the special wastes. This includes tissues, napkins, diapers and the like. For further details on the different types of waste, you can refer to this link: http://quezoncity.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=349:type-of-wastes&catid=78  

So, what do these things have to do with our practicum? Our main goal was to raise awareness and teach people in San Fernando on ways how to resolve environmental issues. For it to be successful, you need to reach out to people and show them the importance of the Zero Waste advocacy. During our first week, we were tasked to do an Information and Education Campaign (IEC) in different barangays. House-to-house and lecturing people about proper waste segregation. First week, and I seriously felt like giving up.  

Drove the tri-wheeler myself

The work, it is neither easy nor bad. AT ALL.  What made the work tiring is the weather. We just had to battle the heat in San Fernando, which is no joke. What's worse is some people's apathy towards what we do. Imagine walking to and fro different barangays under the scorching summer heat and when you knock in someone's house, all you hear is an apathetic, "BUSY KAMI", which you know is a lie. It is sad (for a lack of better term and it really is sad) because no matter how hard we try to reach out, there are still people who would not care, at all. It is sad because when we think about it, the advocacy will not be a success if the people you're giving your effort to do not cooperate. It is sad because I felt unappreciated.  

After our first week, we went home and had a little over two days of rest. I told my family about the whole experience and that's when I got the answers to the second question I posted.  Why do MEF staff do what they do? Summing it all up to one word, it would be compassion. Well, with that kind of work (in the big city of San Fernando) and the kind of response I personally experienced, I know I can't stay long in that kind of job. There's only four of them and yet they still continue working to turn the advocacy into a reality. 

More than complaining, I went back to Pampanga and said to myself that I need to finish what I started. Not because it was a requirement but because I wanted to gain knowledge I know I can share. I wanted to instill that sense of urgency (I felt) to people in case they are forgetting that we do not own this place. We are just caretakers and we need to remind ourselves that there are still generation to come who will inhabit this place. I can only hope that they find it in themselves that change needs to start from them. 

Days passed and the whole thing became more exhausting. I've seen more people who were VERY uncooperative. Real smiles turned to fake ones. Once, we did a dry run (part of work where we inspect each household if they are segregating trash) in Vista Rica, it was pretty smooth until we stopped by a household and the conversation between me and the HomeOwner went like this: 

Me: Good morning po! Mangongolekta lang ng basura. *with a real smile* 

HO: Ah, hindi. Wala kaming basura. *she was starting to get that angry expression on her face* 

Me: Okay po. Sa'n po kayo nagtatapon ng basura? *still trying to put on that real smile* 

HO: Nagsusunog kami. *with a very angry tone* 

Me: Ahh mommy, bawal po kasi magsunog. Pakisegregate na lang po ng basura kasi may mangongolekta naman po regularly. *Then I went on to explain why burning of trash is bad and the fine that goes with it* 

HO: Ahh. Okay. Magbabayad na lang ako. *by this time, she was really very angry and told us to leave already*

Then I suddenly had that wry smile on my face. And wow, there are really people like that. That was the worst experience I had. No kidding, it's worse than holding other people's trash and segregating it myself. Then, I appreciated other people who were very much willing to learn about the whole campaign. There are instances when some households can't understand it the first time you explain it, but it is better than just seeing people be apathetic about it. 

Talked to a collector about the developments of

the Zero Waste campaign in Lourdes Heights

Personally, I was really that close to giving up specially when we visited our designated purok in San Pedro for monitoring. We were there one whole week, teaching people how to segregate and telling them the consequences of not segregating their trash. One week, and all efforts were wasted. It is the most problematic barangay we've been to. Asking the officials, the collectors and the homeowners, there were different stories and each blaming one another for the problems.  Different sides of the story and you don't know who to believe. This is where communication between the officials and the homeowners is of utmost importance. I personally saw the officials lack sympathy towards the campaign. The people who need to lead the campaign, nowhere to be seen. It was also saddening because I saw how the collectors turned to be part of the minority, when in fact they should be given proper attention, too. I saw how hard their work is and how unappreciated they are. 

There are many realizations and learning. I can truly say that this is one summer I can never forget. EVER. 21 years and I thought I've had enough encounters with people so as not to be surprised anymore. I thought I already have enough patience when dealing with hard-headed people, then again I was wrong. I was pushed to my limits. Above all these, I learned not to doubt myself and other people that I can, that they can. 

Living with seven other people in one roof was also a new experience. It was like taking care of sisters and a brother I never had. Eight personalities and sometimes I really wished it was PBB house and force evict myself because of the stress from work (not to mention, the tan lines (?) I got were far more stressful than those I got when going to beaches). Also, our mentors who never gave up even though we, too, had our own fair shares of being naughty and mischievous. These people that I was with for almost a month, knowing that they have the same advocacy as mine were enough to continue believing that whatever it is that we want can be achieved. We just need to keep our hopes alive and work our way up. It is not easy but working towards a Zero Waste Philippines is never impossible. 

8 volunteers. MEF Staff. :)

-Jem de Pedro