Republic of the Philippines

SOUTHERN LEYTE STATE UNIVERSITY

Main Campus, Sogod, Southern Leyte
www.slsuonline.edu.ph
slsumaincampus@gmail.com
Telefax No.: (053) 382-3294

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

HOTEL, RESTAURANT AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT

HRM 307

CASE ANALYSIS

“Open Dump Site in Bicol Region”

Submitted by:

Hermoso, Nedilyn

Lim, Rica Marie

Mejala, Jeymal

Submitted to:

Mr. Emil Martin Pelias

Introduction

Legaspi City is a component city found in the province of Albay in the Bicol Region. It is
centrally located at the heart of the Bicol Region and considered as the regional
administrative center for the reason that 90% of government regional offices are
situated. The city is 532 kilometers south of Metro Manila and is accessible through all
modes of transportations. A total of 70 barangays comprised the city, wherein 45 are
urban and 25 are rural which are further classified into as northern, southern and urban
barangays. Demographically, it has a population of 179,481 based on the latest census
(2007 NSO Census) and estimated at present to have reached to 210,608 (CY 2013) based
on an intercensal projection of 2.3% population growth rate. Major economic activity of
the city is trade and commerce where the occupation of the populace is generally
salary/wage workers.

Solid waste management services of the City Government is presently handled by the
Office of the City Environment and Natural Resources, one of the city offices in charge of
the environment and natural resources undertakings. The approach of the city towards
solid waste management from merely garbage collection and disposal has evolved into a
paradigm shift in a manner called Ecological Solid Waste Management system. This
approach is in pursuance to Republic Act 9003 otherwise known as the “The Ecological
Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.” Various solid waste management programs and
projects were initiated and introduced to properly handle solid waste problems.

One major endeavor that happened to the Legaspi City’s waste management undertaking
happened in 2009, when the city received a subsidy grant amounting to 1.7 million Euros
from a Spanish Cooperation in the Philippines through the Agencia Espańola de
Cooperacion Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID) by virtue of a Protocol Agreement
to support the City Government of Legaspi in the improvement of the environmental and
social life conditions through the sustainable implementation of an ecological solid waste
management system.
Problem/Issues

Legaspi City’s Open Dumpsite (Informal waste sector)

The open dumpsite is situated in a remote location and it is devoid of community residents.
There are no informal settlers residing or “squatting” in the area, thus, no residential structures
either permanent or temporary in nature exists. The presence of the waste pickers in the
dumpsite is limited only to a situation where the sanitary landfill facility could not be operated
due to heavy rainfall occurrence. Impacts to the waste pickers when closure activities of the
dumpsite commence, will have minimal to significant economic effect to their lives as waste
pickers will not be allowed to go to the site during the construction and engineering works for
safety and health reasons thus depriving them their source of livelihood. In the environment,
chemicals and other contaminants found in solid waste can seep into our groundwater
and can also be carried by rainwater to rivers and lakes that provide essential wildlife
habitat. These contaminates can also end up in our ground water, rivers and lakes that
are our sources for drinking water.

Economics being a science of choice analyses how people choose to employ scarce
resources that could have alternative uses in order to produce goods and services and to
distribute them for consumption, in the present or in the future, among various persons
and groups in society.

Possible Solutions

 Solid Waste Management: Collection, Transporting, Recycling and Processing

Disposal

Collection includes the gathering of solid waste and recyclable materials, and the
transport of these materials, after collection, to the location where the collection
vehicle is emptied. This location may be a material processing facility, a transfer
station or a landfill disposal site. Waste disposal today is done primarily by land
filling or closure of existing dump sites. Modern sanitary landfills are not dumps;
they are engineered facilities used for disposing of solid wastes on land without
creating hazards to public health or safety, such as the breeding of insects and the
contamination of ground water.
 Waste Reduction: Stop Throwing Things Out and Use Less Packaging

A simple and obvious choice is to cut back on the amount of waste by using and
throwing out less in the first place. Some states have adopted regulatory strategies
to discourage dependence on landfills. In 1990, for example, California enacted a
law that established a baseline for the amount of solid waste its cities and towns
send to landfills. By 1995, that amount was to be reduced by 25 percent; by the
year 2000, by 50 percent. California now diverts more than 25 percent of its waste,
resulting in disposal of approximately 33 million tons per year. Such heavy cuts
are usually accomplished by recycling.

Packaging is one of the major sources of waste paper and plastics. According to
EarthWorks Groups, it accounts for approximately one-third of all the garbage
Americans send to landfills. Packaging should be minimal. Its production should
be environmentally clean and it should be made up of materials that can be reused
or recycled repeatedly. Some packaging is purposely elaborate to make the
contents more attractive--cosmetics are notorious for this. Smart buyers can
support the use of environmentally friendly packaging by purchasing products
with minimal packaging or with packaging made of recycled or recyclable
materials.

 Using the 3R’s: Reduce, Re-use and Recycle

The expression “3 R’s” – reduce reuse and recycle, is intended to classify waste
management into three key factors relative to suitability in terms of waste
reduction. There are many good reasons to reduce, reuse and recycle. Everything
we use consumes resource and potentially must go somewhere once we’re
finished with it. Reducing the amount of packaging particularly can have a great
impact on environmental damage. Using natural materials can also help.
Reusing product instead of discarding them, finding new potential uses or simply
passing them on to others can help save resources and money.
Recycling can be used for most of the items we use on a daily basis. The benefit of
 recycling can be manifold, including the reuse of materials or even the generation
of energy from processes such as. landfill and combustion.

Conclusion

A typical waste management system in a developing economy includes several

components. They are waste generation and storage, segregation, reuse, and recycling at
the household level, primary waste collection and transport to a transfer station or
community bin, street sweeping and cleansing of public places, management of the
transfer station or community bin, secondary collection and transport to the waste
disposal site, waste disposal in landfills, collection, transport, and treatment of
recyclables at all points on the solid waste pathway (collection, storage, transport, and
disposal). In the past, these important components of waste management were often 111
regarded only from an engineering and technical viewpoint. However, currently it is
realized that these elements are embedded in the local institutional, socio-cultural, and
economic context, which is further influenced by national politics, policies, and legislation
as well as national and global and economic factors. Hence, physical handling of solid
waste and recyclables (storage, collection, transport, treatment, and so on) is just one
SWM activity; it alone cannot fulfill the requirement for sustainable and integrated
solutions to this problem in the cities.

Recommendation

Improve information at city level. The local government must lead the action in solving
this problem. Collect, document, and analyze local problems and good local practices, and
analyze the waste stream and what is already happening to materials. To Develop,
disseminate, and use better financial tools, systems, and incentives that promote
affordability, fairness, and burden-sharing is to build on what works using the 3Rs in
waste management.