“Zero Waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient
and visionary. It aims to guide people in changing their lifestyles and
practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials
are designed to become resources for others to use.
Zero
Waste means designing and managing products and processes to systematically
avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve
and recover all resources, and not burn or bury them.”
(Adapted
from the Zero Waste Definition of the Zero Waste International Alliance)
Zero Waste.
When I first learned about it, I initially thought that the project is
idealistic. How could people possibly conserve their wastes and throw nothing? I
think that not everyone is willing to spend time just to deal with their
garbage; segregating them, putting them in the right treatment facilities, etc.
Then I realize that Zero Waste is not actually about the garbage that we
produce, but about the attitude of the people towards it. If everyone will see
garbage as “waste”, then there must be no hope in reducing it. Otherwise if the
advocacy of treating our trash the way that is ideal and lawful succeeds, there
will be no more “waste” to be thrown.
The act is
not simple, of course. The cooperation of all is needed as the “segregation at
source” is where the Zero Waste will start. Moreover, most of the processing of
garbage so it would not turned into waste are done at home. The most simple
would be composting the biodegradables. In San Fernando, most of the households
I’ve visited are actually doing it. They bury their biodegradables at the
backyard or in the pots then later on they plant on it. As we know, composts
are very good organic fertilizers. It is also the most common among Fernandinossince
it is cheap and beneficial. Biodegradables do not only refer to food scrapings
and leftover meals, it also means the leaves and the branches of the trees or
shrubs in our backyard. You may as well bury it instead of burning it.Burning
the leaves which is customary for us, Filipinos, is actually against the law.
Republic Act 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000) and the Clean
Air Act prohibit siga and one may be
penalised of up to a thousand pesos. Whew, who would want to pay a thousand for
burning leaves? Aside from that siga
is bad for the health because it produces particulate matters that can irritate
our lungs when inhaled plus it does not kill mosquitoes contrary to what most
of know. It only shoo away the insects for as long as there is smoke, and they
will eventually come again after the siga
was gone. Furthermore, when we burn our garbage, we do not actually solved the
problem because the garbage did not vanished- it only transformed from solid to
gas which makes it even harder to clean.
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(Photo from: http://www.smartranger.net/index.cfm?&menuid=17)
Next to composting, the Fernandinos were also much aware of
segregating the trashes that can be sold such as bottles, tin cans and papers
(or kalakal). This garbage will be
sold again to the factories for recycling by the collector or waste worker of
whom the household gave or sold the mentioned trashes. In this way, they were
able to get rid of their bottles and cans at the same time helping their
collectors earn some money. In most cases I’ve encountered, the home owners really
wait for the collector to gather the kalakal
rather than bringing it by themselves to the junk shops. This led to
establishing good rapport and trust between the collectors and the residents.
(Photo from: http://chinkyfilipina.wordpress.com/ )
(Photo from: http://chinkyfilipina.wordpress.com/ )
In Barangay Juliana we have noticed that the tiles they used in
making the walkway were made of mixed cement and shredded plastics. Plastics of
all kinds including the widely used sando
bags and residual garbage sachets and tetra packs do not decay. The label
“biodegradable” on the plastics that we see nowadays is actually a false
advertisement because there is no plastic in the Philippine soil that is
biodegradable. Rather, the “biodegradable plastic” is more appropriately termed
“oxo-degradable” which means that in time, this plastic would disintegrate into small pieces but
definitely they wouldn’t decay. For this reason, we must minimize our use of
plastics, sachets and tetra packs for the treatment for these kinds of trashes
is only for temporary. The tiles in Juliana is just one of the ways we can
recycle plastics. Weaving industry has also their own method in dealing with
tetra packs and sachets- they make it into bags which are not only sturdy but
also fashionable. If we continuously think of other creative means, it would be
a really great help for the environment and for ourselves as well.
Ironically, the long-term solution plastic is the easiest way to get
rid of it- do not use plastic. Be responsible enough to carry ecobags or bayongs when going to the market and
bring reusable plastic containers for the meat and fish products. While in
Pampanga, every time we were having grocery at the supermarket, people did
comment that it is nicer to look at the meat products placed inside the
containers. You’ll be surprised to find out that you can buy anything from the
store without using a single plastic.
How about diapers, napkins and tissues? You must separate them from
other garbage and hand it to the collectors when they visit you. There are
other facilities for its treatment. At home, we may as well bury the diapers
and napkins because 90% of these is biodegradable. After a month, you shall dig
it and gather the plastics that were left.
These measures are all can be done at home, by us. The government sure has also means to eliminate waste. But
considering the tons of garbage from all over the country, our simple acts and
self-discipline are very much needed and required (yeah it is written on the
law). Since we are the ones who
produce garbage, we are also the ones
responsible for them, for in the end no one else but we will suffer the consequences of our negligence.
Zero Waste? Yes, Possible.
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