In 2016, the world generated approximately 2.01 billion tons of waste (World Bank, 2018), or the equivalent in weight of one billion average-size cars. In the Philippines, solid waste generation was estimated at 13.48 million tons in 2010 and is expected to reach 18.05 million tons by 2020 (DENR, 2018).
As populations grow, so will the amount of waste. Proper solid waste management (SWM), thus, is an urgent undertaking.
This is a critical issue in disaster-prone countries like the Philippines – ranked third most at-risk to disasters in the 2018 World Risk Index – and where poverty levels are high. This is because ecosystem degradation and disasters disproportionately affect the poor. They will also bear the brunt of climate change impacts, which may be aggravated by increased greenhouse gas emissions brought about by improper disposal of waste. In the context of waste management, they are “often unserved or have little influence on the waste being disposed of formally or informally near their homes” (World Bank, 2018). Many also work in the informal waste sector, relying on meager, volatile incomes, and exposed to unsafe working conditions.
However, urban poor communities and informal settler families are typically characterized as polluters and waste generators, citing their tendency to buy products in sachets, i.e., in smaller, cheaper quantities. These claims are made despite the fact that, around the world, consumption patterns point to higher spending capacity being positively correlated with higher waste generation. Still, they are usually seen as part of the problem. This study argues that they are also a vital part of the solution.
Good Practice:The Waste Warriors of Barangay Potrero
Barangay Potrero’s Waste Warriors is a good example of an SWM practice that supports the case for increased community participation.
Prior to 2015, Barangay Potrero’s solid waste was unsegregated, and collection was mostly uncoordinated and conducted only twice a week, using trucks that would pick up bags of trash discarded by residents by the side of the road. Because of this collection schedule, and because some roads are too narrow for the trucks to pass through and some areas are only accessible by foot, piles of garbage would often accumulate by the curbside.
It was only in 2015 that their SWM practice took on a more formal, structured process. The Waste Warriors is a group of waste collectors and waste monitors from the local community in Barangay Potrero, Malabon City, whose participation in SWM was made official by the barangay in 2015. Currently, it is composed of 40 waste collectors and 15 waste monitors. The group receives an allowance from the local government – PHP 120 a day for 3-4 hours of work, Mondays through Saturdays – and waste collectors get all the profits from selling the recyclables they collect – which can range from PHP 400 to PHP 2,000.
To date, Barangay Potrero’s compliance with R.A. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, is at 95%, according to Potrero Councilor Khate Nolasco. The barangay is a recognized leader in SWM, having won the Best in Solid Waste Management Award at the 2015 Barangay Power contest hosted by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). In the same year, Potrero also received the Gawad Kalasag Award for Best Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction Committee from the Office of Civil Defense.
Findings: The Benefits of Engaging Communities in Solid Waste Management
By presenting the good practices of Barangay Potrero in the area of SWM, as embodied by the Waste Warriors, this study highlights how engaging, capacitating, and mobilizing local communities to participate in SWM benefits the environment, the individuals, and the community as a whole. This study found that several interrelated factors contributed to the success of Barangay Potrero’s SWM.
1. Their noteworthy SWM practice is a good illustration of what concerted, well-coordinated action between the government, civil society organizations, and communities can achieve. Because there was proper coordination, the process of managing the barangay’s solid waste became more efficient.
2. It shows that strong LGU support and prioritization is an important factor in the success of any program.
3. It highlights how enabling community participation in SWM creates a sense of ownership among community members, which in turn contributes to the sustainability of SWM programs and lets the barangay widen its reach as community members become advocates for proper SWM themselves.
4. It not only leads to improvements in environmental conditions but also improves the livelihoods and social positions of communities who have traditionally been excluded from formal programs and processes. This, in turn, makes their community a more just, inclusive, and resilient one overall.
Particularly for those who have been historically disadvantaged, the formalization of community members’ participation in SWM facilitates social inclusion, or the process of “improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society – improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity” (World Bank, 2018). The program does so by giving them improved livelihoods and thus better access to basic services, opportunities for participation and integration into the formal sector, and an overall higher chance of living a more dignified life. Community members get a sense of accomplishment and improved self-worth, and a sense that they have a voice in their community. Through the related capacity building opportunities, they also become more aware of their rights and are able to assert them, especiallywhen faced with discrimination.
Barangay Potrero’s approach is consistent with the principles of Integrated Risk Management (IRM). Because IRM stresses that people are a vital part of ecosystems, protecting the environment must also mean protecting people. In the area of SWM, as the case of Barangay Potrero shows, this could mean tapping and enriching local capacities and allowing for the formal participation of the most vulnerable. This not only ensures the protection of the environment but also increases the resilience of the community members individually and their community as a whole.
However, in the MBSDMP, there is scant mention of programs, activities, or projects that involve tapping and strengthening the capacities of local communities, particularly the urban poor and informal waste workers, or even of consultations with communities in order to arrive at problem definitions and solutions that are grounded in the reality of the targeted localities. But as the case of Barangay Potrero illustrates, there are many benefits to encouraging the participation of community members in SWM initiatives. Moreover, increased community participation in SWM respects the vital role that people play within ecosystems and recognizes them as a crucial part of the solution. Thus, this study argues that the MBSDMP would do well to draw from the good practices of Barangay Potrero and incorporate SWM programs that enable community participation and maximize their capacities.
View and download the full document here.
Malabon City is in Metro Manila, the National Capital Region of the Philippines. It is part of a sub-region called CAMANAVA (composed of the cities of CAloocan, MAlabon, NAvotas and VAlenzuela) located in the northern part of Metro Manila Bay and situated in the estuary of several river deltas. Malabon is one of the most densely populated cities in the country and its low-lying, flat terrain makes it prone to frequent flooding, especially during high tides, heavy rains and when river and dams overflow. The four
cities in CAMANAVA are commonly affected by interconnected rivers, one of which is the Tullahan River.
The river system used to be navigable and fishing was the major livelihood activity in the area. The river used to be wider, deeper, had better quality water, and was a regular source of different species of fish, which were an important food source for local residents. Also, trees and crops like palay (rice) and vegetables used to be grown along the riverbanks. However, these agricultural plots have been replaced by industrial yards, which also became home to thousands of informal settlers who built makeshift
dwellings without legal claim to the land.
In recent years, floods have worsened, occurring more frequently and reaching levels of several feet deep. Most affected are families in the communities that are along or near the riverbanks. The river has become narrower and shallower over the years, and its capacity to hold water has decreased. With more frequent, intense rains, the riverbanks flood regularly, and flooding reaches farther into low-lying and densely populated areas of the city.
View and download the full Inside Story from the Climate Knowledge & Development Network here.
Effective and sustainable disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation is almost impossible to achieve without safeguarding the health of ecosystems. And in some cases, the solution to protecting a community from natural hazards lies in nature itself. Mangrove reforestation, for instance, can serve as a small-scale mitigation measure to strengthen community resilience.
Barangay Sabang is one of 11 coastal villages in Calabanga, Camarines Sur prone to storm surges and flooding. But by transforming a vast expanse of abandoned fish ponds into a lush mangrove forest, the community built a shield against hazards. This was done through the collaboration of the local government, national government agencies, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and a dedicated group of volunteers from the community, who planted more than 150,000 mangrove propagules along riverbanks and throughout the coastal areas of Calabanga.
After the rehabilitation of the mangrove forests, residents of Barangay Sabang observe that inland flooding brought by storms have become less intense compared to the ones they used to experience. The mangrove forests also help mitigate saltwater intrusion to nearby agricultural barangays; thus, preventing damage to crops.
A boom in the population of marine species was likewise noticeable, with mud crabs and a variety of fish now calling the roots of the mangroves home. The forests also serve as a sanctuary and breeding ground for freshwater species. These days, villagers say their waters teem with small fish and play host to the occasional butanding (whale shark).
Manila Bay is strategically located and used to facilitate commerce and trade with other neighboring countries. In its heyday, the bay was known for clean and blue water where people could fish and children could play along the shore. It also used to be filled with mangroves, thus capable of protecting the shore from big waves. Today, however, Manila Bay has become quite the opposite as it is mostly known for intense pollution and unsanitary water.
Due to the increasing population, many of the urban poor communities live in or near the coastal areas. Because these vulnerable populations have limited resources, many people cram into these areas and result to high-risk living conditions with the general housing of community made of only lightweight materials.
The Malabon-Navotas-Tullahan-Tinajeros or MANATUTI River System is one of the three river groups draining into Manila Bay. MANTUTI has been classified as a dead river and can no longer sustain forms of life which affect the quality of life of the fisherfolk near these bodies of water. They have to travel to distant waters in order to catch fish, hence increasing their expenses and reducing income. Aside from this, the communities who reside in areas, such as those by Manila Bay or its comprising river systems (usually informal settlers) are most prone to flooding, fire, storm surges, liquefactions, and earthquakes which are expected to be intensified in the next five to ten years due to climate change.
The Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program is simultaneously ongoing with the Manila Bay Sustainable Development Master Plan which is a joint effort of the Philippine government and the Netherlands Government. The latter serves as more of a guide on how future plans for Manila Bay will be carried out, however it is a mere guide that does not have the teeth to enforce its provisions. This is where Partners for Resilience (PfR) steps in. PfR aims to harmonize the process of planning, particularly since one main challenge of large areas such as Manila is that there are simply too many plans.
In Voices of Manila Bay, resilience-building efforts for not only the local government unit officials, but also of the community members themselves through joint and inclusive initiatives and platforms are featured. Through PfR, people from these communities, as well as members of the local government were given an opportunity to create consultations and discussions about their natural environment, their surroundings, their vulnerabilities, and their capacities in order to form a stronger mindset and clearer perspective on the situation. Eventually, this was able to inform the plans and decisions they made for community resilience.
Without PfR, many of the small but most vulnerable communities would not have any idea that there is an ongoing planning and development process for Manila Bay. Therefore, they would not have a chance to share their grievances, inputs, and aspirations about what they want for Manila Bay as the most affected population.
As a whole, this film aims to encourage a dialogue around the participation of communities and local stakeholders in large infrastructure development projects.
To see the full film, please watch the video below.