SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF

HOUSEHOLDS IN BRGY. MAAHAS, LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA

INOCENO, DANICA MAE V.

HUME 199A

APRIL 26, 2019

A seminar paper submitted in partial fulfillment in HUME 199A- Seminar in

Human Ecology 1 under Gillian Consignado, Second Semester S.Y 2018-2019,
Department of Social Services, College of Human Ecology, University of the
Philippines Los Banos, Laguna

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 Abstract
This study aims to review level of engagement of households in Purok 3,
barangay Maahas, specifically, on the household practices, engagement to
waste management-related events, and awareness regarding the policies
and programs implemented both by the barangay and municipality. A
review from a past study case study was done, which was focused on the
different households’ waste management practices. Result shows that
segregation and waste collection are done by the majority of the
respondents. However, participants are only slightly aware of the actual
schedule for garbage collection. There was a low response in the
engagement of participants in the events organized by the barangay
related to waste management. To encourage the people to participate,
publication materials and social media can be utilized. There was also no
specific area for the garbage to be collected. A collection bin with a signage
should be assigned in different areas as it can help inform people about the
schedule and proper way of segregation.

Keywords: solid waste management, waste collection, participation, waste segregation,

engagement, awareness

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Los Baños is one of the municipalities of the province of Laguna. It has a land are of
5,650 hectares and consists of 14 barangays - Batong Malake, Baybayin, Timugan, Anos,
Bagong Silang, Bambang, Bayog, Lalakay, Maahas, Malinta, Mayondon, San Antonio, Tadlac,
and Tuntungin-Putho. As it is located in Mt. Makiling, and it has University of the Philippines
Los Baños, the municipality is widely known as the Special Science and Nature City (The
Special Science and Nature City, 2015).

Barangay Maahas is an identified rural area. It covers 366 hectares of and is composed
of five puroks (Purok 1-5) and three sitios (Sitio Ibaba, Sitio Buot, Sitio Putrero). As of the third
quarter of 2018, it holds 6.73% of the population of Los Baños. (2018 Manila Baybayin Form
2.2, 2018). Its population of 8,068, consists of 2,032 households.

According to the Garbage Collection And Disposal System In Los Banos, Laguna,
Philippines, the municipality of Los Baños had ordinances and resolutions to help solve the
problems relating to wastes disposals in the year 1986 to 1997. Out of the twelve ordinances

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and thirty five resolutions, three were focused on providing the public clean areas which
includes the river and costal area.

This study was conducted in order to determine if the policies made by both
municipality and barangay are effective, and to determine the participation of its people in
lessening wastes produced in the barangay.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study aims to determine the solid waste management practices of households in
Barangay Maahas, Los Banos, Laguna. Specifically, it aims to:

1. Identify the waste management practices of the different households,

2. Determine if the people from the barangay engages in activities related to solid
waste management, and

3. Determine the effectiveness of the Solid Waste Management Programs made by

both the barangay and municipality in influencing the participation in the solid waste
management of the members of the households in Maahas.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study focuses on the engagement of the population in barangay Maahas with
policies, ordinances activities and that can help lessen the production of wastes. As this is a
case study, al total of 6 respondents from the barangay will be chosen to represent the whole
population. The study will be done through interviews and observations. By these strategies,
the researcher will be able to determine of the effectiveness of the solid waste management
programs and the population’s engagement on it.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research will be beneficial to both the barangay and municipality for they will be
able to determine the bottlenecks in executing policies and programs. They will also be able
to learn if there are other problems regarding solid waste management such as the lack of
knowledge regarding recycling, In this study, the barangay and municipality will be aware of
what the people think will be effective to lessen the wastes produced in the barangay. This will
also give them better ideas on how they can increase people’s participation. This research will
also be helpful to future researchers for this study might contain data and information that they
might need in their research.

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 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In Metro Manila, 57% of all the collected daily solid wastes comes from residential
households. It is followed by commercial sources which produces 27% of the wastes while the
remaining percent are from the institutional and industrial source (Philippine Solid Wastes as
a Glance, 2017). According to the National Solid Waste Management Commission, or the
NSWMC (2015), 52% of the wastes produced nationally were biodegradables, 28% were
recyclables, 17% were residuals, and 2% were hazardous wasts.

There are several factors the affects people’s behavior towards garbage separation.
Poor behavior in separation can be caused by the lack of proper knowledge about waste
separation, as well as the limited products in the market that can be recycled. (Low, Tee, and
Choong, 2016). Effective and proper waste separation can be effective if different attributes
are combined which will the result to a behavior change.

Solid wastes should be properly managed (Mrema, 2008). Poor management of solid
wastes will result to heavy environment damages and a more expensive operation cost, land
scarcity, etc. Recyclable waste separation is defined as the separation of wastes according to
their recycle value (Matter et al, 2013). Participation of people in separation and recycling can
be increased by giving incentives to the community, as well as the presence of trash bins. It
helps in producing higher recycling rate, but also, it promotes lesser production of wastes.
Another trend is resource discovery. This is focused on the recovery of solid waste materials,
and it includes recyclables and residual wastes.

Waste Segregation in the Philippine Setting

Majority of the countries on East Asia and other Pacific regions produces 270 million
tons of wastes per year (Hoornweh, Bhada-Tata, 2012). It was predicted that population will
continuously increase in the following years. The increase in the population will also increase
wastes produced. It was estimated that 0.5kg of wastes will be produced by every person, on
average. With the population of the Philippines, approximately 35,580 tons of garbage are
produced daily. The same data was produced by Gilbert and Ramos (2012). However, with
the 50,000 tons of wastes produced daily, the garbage collected are only about 35,000 tons,
which makes the remaining wastes to be left in open places.

Based on the Republic Act of 9003, proper ecological management, segregation,

collection, and disposal should be done by everyone, but the barangay must be one of its
driving forces.

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 Household wastes can be managed in three ways (Omics International, 2018). One is
with the use of landfills. This is the most common method of waste disposal. It is focused on
the burying of wastes, specifically those that are biodegradable, in land. The second one is
incineration or combustion. It is a method of burning wastes at very high temperature which
will turn waste into small residues. Lastly is the recovery and recycling. This is done by
collecting used items and utilizing them for other uses. This method can be used to turn wastes
into a new material or a form of energy.

Policies in Barangay Maahas related to Solid Waste Management

According to Mrs. Tala Alvarez (2018), the barangay secretary of barangay Maahas,
garbage are collected in the barangay by two trucks. One is owned by the municipality and it
is assigned to collect wastes located along the National Road. The other truck is provided by
the barangay. It is the one assigned to collect garbage in the subdivisions and inner parts of
the barangay such as Sitio Ibaba. She explained that the biodegradables are collected every
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday starting from 7pm. The non-biodegradable wastes are
collected every Saturday, at 7pm.

Twice a month, a scheduled cleaning program in done with the help of the barangay –
which is called ‘Operation Linis’. The operation is done weekly if it was observed that the
surrounding needs more urgent cleaning. As the river in the barangay is connected to Laguna
de Bay, another cleaning operation is done every quarter – Quarterly Clean Up of the
Maulawin-Maahas Creek. The committee on environment protection are the ones assigned
for this operation, which is led by the barangay councilor assigned in the committee. To make
these operation possible they seek help with different NGOs, Women’s Brigade, and different
organizations which is located near and in the barangay.

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Figure 1.1 Conceptual Framework of Solid Waste Management Program in Brgy.

Maahas, Los Baños, Laguna

METHODOLOGY
The research is a desk research which focused on past literature of the researcher to
be able to answer the questions and objectives about the research. The results from the past
case study of the researcher will be laid for discussion.

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 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 1.1 Data on the different methods of waste disposal done by the interviewees
from the inner and outer purok of Maahas, Los Baños, Laguna

Methods of Waste
Disposal Inner Purok Outer Purok Total

Landfill 1 0 1

Combustion 0 1 1

Recycling 1 1 2

Collection at home 2 3 5

As shown in the table, majority of the household wastes produced by the respondents
are collected inside their homes. Combustion is also done in one of the households. Despite
this method not being allowed due to the R.A. 8749 or Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999, there
is a lack in the implementation resulting to the continuous burning of wastes.

Table 1.2 Data on the participation of the interviewees from the inner and outer purok
with waste segregation.

Waste Segregation Inner Purok Outer Purok

Segregates 3 3

Does Not Segregate 0 0

Total 3 3

All the respondents from both inner and outer purok exercise waste segregation. From
the inner purok, two out of three mentioned their neighbor, Ite, as the one who taught them
how to segregate. All respondents said that it was taught in their schools and they got used to

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segregating because they are familiar with the policy made by the municipality and their
wastes will not be collected by the garbage collector if it is not segregated. With this, it can be

said that the people surrounding them can influence a person’s habit.

Table 1.3 Data on the participation of the interviewees from Purok 3, Maahas, Los
Baños, Laguna with recycling wastes.

Waste Recycling Purok 3

Recycle 1

Sometimes Recycle 1

Does Not Recycle 4

Total 6

Out of all the respondents, only one exercise recycling. One sometimes exercise
recycling to sell in junk shops, while four of them does not recycle because they immediately
throw things that they think they will not need anymore.

Table 1.4 Data on the awareness of the interviewees from Purok 3, Maahas, Los
Baños, Laguna regarding the garbage collection schedule.

Awareness of Garbage Collection Purok 3

Schedule
Aware 0

Slightly Aware 6

Not Aware 0

Total 6

During the interview, all of the respondents answered that they are aware of the
garbage collection schedule in the barangay. However, their answer to the schedule was
slightly incorrect. All of the respondents answered that the only schedule of garbage collection
is every Saturday when it was supposed to be every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and

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Saturday. With this, the barangay must coordinate and inform its residence more about the
schedule of garbage collection. Collecting garbage for a long period of time can cause the
degradation of the area’s water and soil quality, and it can poisoning, especially if there is a
chemical involved in the garbage (Alam, Ahmade, 2012). In addition, it can also cause an
obstruction with the waterways if a storm comes in, which can cause flooding in the area.

Table 1.5 Data on the awareness of the interviewees from Purok 3, Maahas, Los
Baños, Laguna regarding the policies made by municipality and barangay about
waste management.

Awareness of Policies
Regarding Waste PUROK 3
Management
Aware 0

Slightly Aware 6

Not Aware 0

Total 6

All of the respondents are only slightly aware about the waste management policies of
both the barangay and municipality. When asked to elaborate, most of them answered that
fines will be given to those caught throwing trash in public spaces. With this, the barangay
should focus more on the information dissemination for the public to be more aware of the
policies. During the interview, the participants suggests that it will be more effective if every
houses in the barangay should be informed in person so that more people will be informed
about the policies.

Table 1.6 Data on the attendance of the interviewees from Purok 3, Maahas, Los
Baños, Laguna in barangay events related to waste management.

Attendance in Barangay
Events Related to Waste PUROK 3
Managements
Never Attend 5

Sometimes Attend 0

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 Always Attend 1

Total 6

As shown in table 1.6, majority of the respondents have never attended any
events related to waste management. When asked why, their response was that they are not
informed about the events in the barangay. Some of the participants suggested that they will
be able to attend events if they are informed in advanced, and if the place where the event will
be held is more accessible because the location where the events are done are too far for
them.

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 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Wastes are managed by most of the households in barangay Maahas by collecting it

at home. However, due to the location of the houses, some are not able to go out for the
collection schedule and ends up combusting their biodegradable wastes. This is against the
Republic Act no. 8749 or the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999. To ensure that the law will be
followed by the residents, the barangay can create a task force which will be assigned to visit
all of the households and check if they are doing the proper waste segregation.

The barangay conducts monthly clean up, and there are times that they do it weekly if
they observe that the surroundings need immediate cleaning. However, not everyone receives
notice about the cleaning. Proper information dissemination should be done to increase the
number of volunteers for the event such as the use of invitations and publication materials
such as flyers. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter can also be utilized since almost
anyone can access it for free and it has a bigger reach.

Biodegradable garbage is schedule to be collected every Monday, Wednesday, Friday,

and Saturday, while the non-biodegradables are scheduled every Saturday. A strict
implementation is applied with the collection. If garbage are found to not be segregated, the
collector will leave it in the location. This makes the residents to follow proper waste
segregation. However, a specific location for garbage collection is not present in the barangay.

During the scheduled garbage collection, there are no specific location for the
collection. This results to the wastes being put beside the electrical posts. Foul odor can
spread along the surroundings, and also, the animals might try to collect food in those wastes.
It can result the trash to scatter near the road. Trash should be collected only in a specific
location to prevent foul odor in the area, and to prevent animals from scattering the garbage.
The location for the collection can have a signage to inform people of the location. It can also
include the schedule of collection, and instructions for proper waste management and
segregation.

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 REFERENCES
2018 Manila Baybayin Form 2.2. (2018). Maahas, Los Baños, Laguna.
Alam, P., & Ahmade, K. (2012). Impact Of Solid Waste On Health And The
Environment. Special Issue Of International Journal Of Sustainable Development And Green
Economics, 3.
Garbage Collection And Disposal System In Los Banos, Laguna, Philippine, Sub Module II:
Large Cities and Small Cities, MODULE: Urban Governance, pp. 14-19, 26-31
Gilbert, N and Ramos, D. 2012. Mechanized solid waste processing facility in Payatas,
Quezon City. Powerpoint presentation during the SWAPPCon 2012. November 21, 2012.
Hoornweg, Daniel; Bhada-Tata, Perinaz. 2012. What a Waste : A Global Review of Solid
Waste Management. Urban development series;knowledge papers no. 15. World Bank,
Washington, DC. © World Bank.
Low, ST., Tee SY., Choong, WW., (2016). Preferred Attributes of Waste Separation
Behaviour: An Empirical Study, p. 739
Matter, A., Dietschi, M., & Zurbrügg, C. (2013). Improving the Informal Recycling Sector
through Segregation of Waste in the Household– The Case of Dhaka Bangladesh. Habitat
International. 38, 150-156.
Mrema, K. (2008). An Assessment of Student Environment Attitude and Behavior and
Effectiveness of Their School Recycling Program. Dalhousie University.

Municipality of Los Baños, (2015a). Land Area And Location . Retrieved from
http://losbanos.gov.ph/facts-and-figures/area-and-location

Municipality of Los Baños, (2015b). The Special Science And Nature City Retrieved from
http://losbanos.gov.ph/facts-and-figures/the-special-science-and-nature-city
OMICS International, (2018). Waste Disposal Practices. Retrieved from
https://www.omicsonline.org/conferences-list/waste-disposal-practices
Senate of the Philippines, (2017). Philippine Solid Wastes At A Glance, p. 2

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 KEY QUESTIONS
1. What are your methods of waste disposal? Landfill? Combustion (Pagsisiga)?
2. Do you segregate your wastes? If yes, where or from whom did you learn how to
segregate?
3. Do you recycle?
4. Are you aware of the garbage collection schedule? Where do you put the garbage that are
to be collected?
5. Are you aware of the policies implemented in the barangay/ municipality regarding waste
management?
6. Have you been into any events in the barangay discussing about waste management and
proper disposal?
7. Are you aware of where your wastes are dumped right after it’s been collected?
OBSERVATION GUIDE
1. Is there a combustion site near their area?
2. Are there any available garbage bin nearby?
3. Where is the nearest collection area for the wastes?
4. Are there any signage to where it is only allowed to throw garbage?

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