Running Head: IMPORTANCE OF SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT 1

The Importance of Solid Waste Management and Disposal to Environment and Global Health

Kimberly S. Dazo

Immaculate Conception Polytechnic

Abstract

Waste management is the process of treating solid wastes and offers variety of solutions for

recycling items that don’t belong to trash. It is about how garbage can be used as a valuable

resource. Waste management is something that each and every household and business owner in

the world needs. The primary goal of proper waste management is to protect the environment

and for the health and safety of the population.

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CHAPTER 1:

INTRODUCTION

“There is no such thing as “away”, When we throw anything away, it must go somewhere.” –-

--(Annie Leonard). Nowadays the waste management is not an option anymore but necessary.

Due to an increase in population, the generation of waste is getting doubled day by day.

Moreover, the increase in waste is affecting the lives of many people. By practicing waste

management, we are observing our consumption of resources and working to reduce the

hazardous waste used.

1.0 Background of the study

With the age of industrialization came urbanization, and as a result of large populations

quickly arose. Cities soon became very crowded and the accumulation of waste grew. With no

waste disposal rules in place the streets became full of waste. In 1842 renowned social

reformer Edwin Chadwick penned a report ‘The Sanitary Condition of the Labouring

Population’ he put forward a persuasive argument for the need for proper removal and

management facilities of refuse. Stating that the health and well-being of the population was at

stake. This report played an important role in securing the first law on waste collection. The 1846

the Nuisance Removal and Disease Prevention Act started the ball rolling for the ever-evolving

regulation of waste management. With this bin men were born. The first city wide authority in

charge of them was the Metropolitan Board of Works. With the introduction of the Public Health
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Act of 1875 every household had to deposit their weekly rubbish in a ‘movable receptacle’ for

disposal, and so the dust-bin came about.

1.1 Statement of the Problem

Nowadays, we are suffering environmental dilemmas such as global warming, flash floods,

and etc. One of the causes of these problem is the misbehavior of the people towards waste

management. Some people are reckless in throwing their garbage. They do not think of the

possible results of their actions on the environmental as well as on health. Improper waste

disposal is the disposal of waste in a way that has negative consequences for the environment. It

includes having lung disease due to some polluted air that we breathe and it also affects our

climate because as some waste decomposes, it releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

1.2 Significance of the study

The significance of this study is to encourage people to practice proper waste management

and disposal. You can simply help the environment by not littering. When waste is disposed of

properly, it helps to prevent additional pollution which can improve public health. It can also

help conserve our planet’s natural beauty which can be flawed by thoughtless disposal of waste,

and senseless littering. Landscapes can be ruined through littering and places of tourist interest

can lose their attraction. Natural beauty is a legacy and a right for future generations and

conserving it, as well as our natural resources, for their benefit is our responsibility today.
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1.3 Scope and Delimitation

This study is conducted primarily for the purpose of healthy environment and making the

world a better place. The strategies that may help us is putting non-biodegradable and

biodegradable trash bin inside the school and other facilities. This research is mainly focusing

inside the Private School in Bulacan. The students and teachers who will undergo this practice

are from Immaculate Conception Polytechnic School, Philippines, during the school year of

2019-2020.

CHAPTER 2:

REVIEW OR RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter includes the ideas, generalization or conclusions, methodologies and others.

Those that were included in this chapter helps in familiarizing information that are relevant and

similar to the present study.

RELATED LITERATURE

LOCAL

According to Senate Economic Planning Office (SEPO) Solid waste management remains a

major challenge in the Philippines especially in urban areas like Metro Manila. Improper wastes

disposal, inefficient wastes collection and lack of disposal facilities are among the dominant

concerns in the country’s solid waste management. Unless these are addressed, the wastes
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generated from various sources will continually lead to health hazards and serious environmental

impacts such as ground and surface water contamination, flooding, air pollution and spread of

diseases. Based on their report, the country’s waste generation steadily increased from 37,427.46

tons per day in 2012 to 40,087.45 tons in 2016. Meanwhile, solid wastes produced by Philippine

cities are expected to increase by 165 percent to 77,776 tons by 2025.

"The real problem is the people. The plastic people. These are the problem of the country and

we're addressing it; at the same time we're trying to come up also with minimizing the use of

plastic," as stated by Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda. For him, the waste is not

the problem, it is the Filipinos' lack of discipline to segregate and reduce waste and also because

of a lack of information and awareness, that most solid wastes are contaminated due to mixing of

wastes.

Moreover, The Philippines has endeavored to improve its management of solid waste through

the passage of RA 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 that provides

for a systematic, comprehensive and ecological waste management program to ensure the

protection of public health and the environment. RA 9003 describes solid waste management as

a discipline associated with the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport,

processing, and disposal of solid wastes. The manner by which these activities are conducted

shall be in accord with the best principles of public health, economics, engineering, conservation,

aesthetics, other environmental considerations, and public attitudes. The Act provides for a

comprehensive ecological solid waste management program by creating the necessary

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institutional mechanisms and incentives, appropriating funds, declaring certain acts prohibited,

and providing penalties.

FOREIGN

Germany has the best recycling rate in the world. Austria comes in second, followed by South

Korea and Wales. All four countries manage to recycle between 52% and 56% of their municipal

waste. Switzerland, in fifth place, recycles almost half of its municipal waste. According to

Eunomia, the environmental consultancy that compiled the report, these countries all have in

common government policies that encourage recycling, such as making it easy for households to

recycle waste; good funding for recycling; and financial incentives. They also set clear

performance targets and policy objectives for local governments.

Some countries, such as Wales, have ambitious recycling targets. Wales aims to achieve zero

waste by 2050, and the EU is looking at adopting a new target for 2030, thought to be at least

65%. The report singles out Wales, which it says outperforms many larger European countries

because of its “political leadership and investment”. It says that Wales is a “global leader” in

recycling and could outdo Germany, as early as 2018.

An efficient waste management system can assist in proper operation of the many

interconnected systems on which a unit depends for waste containment, leachate management,

and other important functions. If the constituents of an overall waste management system are not

frequently examined, maintained, improved, and evaluated for effectiveness, even the best

designed unit might not operate resourcefully. Good execution of waste management system can
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also decrease long and short term costs, shield workers and local communities, and maintain

good community relations. Successful waste management system also requires that procedures

be in place to observe performance and determine improvement towards clearly articulated and

well understood environmental goals.

“Major objective of waste management is to lessen the waste thus aiming at the ideal system.

While the resource management intends to maximize the utilization of the resources. The goal of

waste and resource management is same that is optimal utilization of available resources for

increased efficiency and growth of the system but the approaches are different.” (Arora, 2004).

To summarize, Waste management is the procedure to treat solid wastes and proposes numerous

solutions for recycling items that do not belong to scrap. It is about how garbage can be used as a

valuable resource.

RELATED STUDIES

LOCAL

According to Serbanto (2012) in his book entitled “Waste Management Disposal” said that

Zero Waste is a critical stepping-stone to other necessary steps in the efforts to protect health,

improve equity and reach sustainability. Zero Waste can be linked to sustainable agriculture,

architecture, energy, industrial, economic and community development. Every single person in

the world makes waste and as such is part of a non-sustainable society. However, with good

political leadership, everyone could be engaged in the necessary shift towards a sustainable

society. Good political leadership in this matter involves treating citizens as key allies to protect
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human health and the environment and in making the transition to a sustainable future.

Governments need to “govern” rather than attempt to “manage” this change to sustainable

resource conservation practices. This includes a significant investment in public outreach and

education so that citizens can help communities make the most informed choices.

In the book of Obrero (2015) entitled “Waste Management” cited that waste management that

aims to reduce total amount of waste to zero by redesigning resource-use systems. Rather than

maintaining a linear waste system – you throw something away, it ends up in a landfill – zero

waste initiatives work toward extending current practices of recycling and reuse into a circular

waste system. This strategy “maximizes recycling, minimizes waste, reduces consumption and

ensures that products are made to be reused, repaired or recycled back into nature or the

marketplace.

REFERENCES:

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/waste-management-and-waste-disposal-methods.php

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/12/germany-recycles-more-than-any-other-country/

https://247wasteremoval.co.uk/blog/a-brief-history-of-waste-management

https://www.change.org/p/waste-management-improper-waste-disposal-and-littering-355e5196-

4624-4a74-830e-5ab1cd44817b

https://denr.gov.ph/index.php/priority-programs/solid-waste-management

https://business.inquirer.net/270819/solid-waste-mismanagement-in-the-philippines

https://www.senate.gov.ph/publications/SEPO/AAG_Philippine%20Solid%20Wastes