A Study of Policy Implementation and Community Participation

in the Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Philippines

Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management has become one of the most pressing

environmental concerns of the Philippines at present. Several measures have been

implemented to circumvent this issue, including waste management policies

stipulated in the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2001. However, the

implementation of these policies even at the barangay level has always been a

challenge. Hence, this study assessed the compliance of selected barangays in

Cebu City, Philippines, specifically to the integrated solid waste management plan

based on the 3R’s (reduce, reuse, and recycle). A descriptive quantitative method

was utilized in this study. There were 1523 residents and 30 Barangay Environment

Officials identified as respondents based on Slovin’s sampling method at a 95%

confidence level. The results revealed that there is less extent of compliance in

almost all of the SWM policies such as segregation, composting, recycling,

incentives, and public information. There is a moderate extent of compliance in

terms of collection and transport of solid waste and enforcement of penalties and

fines. However, there is non-compliance in terms of facilities for final disposal.

Furthermore, the results suggested that effective measures for recycling and

composting should be undertaken to encourage higher participation among

residents of the barangay. The presence of effective, functional, and marketable

materials resource facilities and convenient drop-off locations for recyclable

materials ensure final sorting according to its type for composting and recycling.

Keywords: Solid waste management; Policy implementation; Municipal waste;

Household waste; Compliance

https://doi.org/10.35762/AER.2021.43.2.3
Introduction

The most pressing concern among urban areas in the Asian countries is the

tangible environmental issues on air and water pollution such as illegal dumping,

uncontrolled dumpsites, unsegregated wastes, and clogged waterways. These issues

stem from poor solid waste management practices which have become a

consequence of fast economic growth, industrialization, and rising population with

increasing income and better lifestyle [1]. In 2016, about 1,200 million tons of

municipal solid wastes or MSW’s (e.g. plastics, papers, glass, metal, and food) were

generated in Asia and the Pacific and this is expected to further increase in the

following years. It is projected that the generation of these waste materials will

continue to surge until its universal peak as far as 2100 [2-3]. MSW’s are identified to

be coming from the household, commercial, industrial (due to construction and

demolition), agricultural, institutional, and a combination of any of the waste sources.

In most cases, household and commercial wastes cannot be distinguished and are

categorized together as urban wastes [4].

This global issue will persist unless relevant and forceful sustainability measures

are being implemented [2]. These measures can involve strict implementation and

enforcement of solid waste management (SWM) policies on a community level, which

requires the active involvement of community and waste management stakeholders

to ensure successful results [5-6]. At present, SWM policies have become a vital

component for institutions and governments that should be able to put all of these

elements in place - segregation, collection, transport, materials recovery, treatment,

and disposal [7]. For many developing countries, the 3R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle)

strategy is the ultimate choice, amongst many, as far as SWM policies are concerned
with the aim of minimizing the volume of MSW’s [8]. Unfortunately, the enforcement

and implementation of SWM policies and strategies are still a challenge in many

developing countries [9], including the Philippines.

Suitable benchmark metrics help a community to measure its success in the

provision of solid waste management facilities, to provide decision making input on

goals for inadequate funds available for infrastructure enhancements, and to track

changes over time. The Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) agenda

differentiates three scopes for investigation of solid waste management: the physical

classification and its technological mechanisms, sustainability features (social,

institutional, political, financial, economic, environmental, and technical), and the

various clusters of stakeholders involved. The physical aspects such as safety of

public health which is dependent on a sound waste collection facility; environmental

defense specifically during waste treatment and disposal; and resource value, the

‘3Rs’ - reduce, reuse, recycle. Secondly, are the governance aspects. It conveys an

effective system, with the stakeholders indirectly included allowing them to assist and

gain, both as users and providers of service. This also dealt with the assessment of

sound and proactive policies. The financial sustainability, the third aspect, ensures

that solid waste management facilities and actions are practical and reasonable.

Unfortunately, actual data on costs, specifically on expenses per tons of waste

managed by the organization, were usually either non-existent or uncertain [10].

With the existing metrics being discussed in the literature, this study finds these

indicators relevant to be evaluated as to implementation and compliance, to serve as

a guide for the policymakers on the enhancement of the existing policies and

guidelines. Further, the need to evaluate additional metrics such that of penalties and
rewards, will serve as check-and-balance metrics for an efficient and effective SWM.

The urban areas in the Philippines, for example, Metro Manila, have always serious

issues regarding the management of MSW’s because of the high population density

and consumption rates, as well as the concentration of packaged goods, some of

which are made with raw materials that are toxic and nonbiodegradable [11]. In

2016, urban areas in the country generate over 40,000 t d -1 of solid waste with an

average per capita of waste generated at 0.40 kg d -1 [12]. These wastes are

produced from households (73%), commercial institutions, and industries (26%), and

healthcare facilities (1%) [11]. To enforce MSW management, RA 9003 (Ecological

Solid Waste Management Act) was enacted in 2000, which authorized local

government units (LGU’s) to institutionalize methodological, all-inclusive, and

environmentally sound MSW management plans [13]. The RA 9003 of the republic

facilitates the idea that waste is a resource that can be retrieved. The act offers the

most favored choices for solid waste management with source reduction and minimi-

zation of waste generated at source and resource recovery, recycling, and reuse of

waste [14]. This act supports a paradigm that waste can be recycled as a resource.

The most common options for solid waste management in RA 9003 are the reduction

and minimization of waste generated at source and resource recovery, recycle and

reuse of waste. In the first three years of the act, the statutory mandated quotas for

solid waste disposal were set at 25% waste disposal and raised every three years

afterward. It further directs the conception of the Solid Waste Management Board

(SWMB) beginning from the national, provincial, city/ municipal, down to the

barangay level. The barangay, similar to a village, is the lowest political and

administrative level in the Philippines. The institutional mechanism of the law is the
establishment of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC). The

law also identifies stakeholders that have an interest in good waste management,

thus having significant contribution and participation.

This is presented in Supplementary Material (SM) 1 with their roles as prescribed

by the law. The recognition of stakeholders is very important in managing their

participation and engagement in various waste management activities [15-16].

The current waste management scheme equally outlines the roles of the city or

municipal government and the barangays in instigating waste diversion as shown in

Figure 1.

RA 9003 aims of creating an integrated SWM system; hence it mandates the

provision of material recovery facilities (MRFs) in all barangays that are in line with

the reduction, reuse, recycle scheme. Moreover, LGUs adopt sanitary landfills instead

of illegal burning or open dumping. However, landfills have been reaching their

maximum capacity and so necessary measures are proposed. As an example, Cebu

City which is one of the highly urbanized centers in the central Philippines set a

landfill waste reduction of 50% for the year 2015 [11]. Some notable efforts of

reducing landfill disposal are the establishment of the city’s composting schemes,

extending from backyard, community-based, and business-led composting initiatives.

These arrangements are usually on small scale (less than 1 t d -1) and depend on

segregated waste from the local community. Moreover, City Ordinance No. 2013

(Mandating garbage segregation at source. Categorization of waste. Establishment of

fines) orders garbage segregation at source according to four waste classifications: 1)

biodegradable or compostable wastes, 2) non-biodegradable wastes, 3) reusable or

recyclables wastes and 4) bulky wastes, with penalties for violations. Following the
adoption, in April 2011 of the resolution 'No Segregation, No Collection Scheme' and

City Ordinance No. 2343, better known as the 'No Plastic Saturday Ordinance of the

City of Cebu,' the use of plastic shopping bags as primary packaging for products in

commercial establishments is banned for noncompliance every Saturday with

appropriate penalties [18]. However, the MSW management implementation of LGUs

in the Philippines is still very limited even with the thorough reform introduced in the

creation of RA 9003 [11]. The LGU’s primary responsibility is the implementation and

enforcement of the provisions in the law in their area of jurisdictions. Hence, it is

then thought that waste segregation and collection should be enforced at the

barangay level specifically for biodegradable, compostable, and reusable wastes. It is

further expected that the barangay will ensure 100% collection coverage of the waste

from residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural sources.

The study aimed to assess the current SWM practices of the barangay residents as

community participants and the level of barangay implementation of the SWM policy

to determine compliance and degree of participation as mandated in the RA 9003 in

terms of waste segregation, collection and transport, recycling and composting

practices and programs, incentives and implementation of the penalties and fines as

well as public education and information to solid waste management plans and

programs of the barangay. Other solid waste management studies focused on gaps

limited in the management of wastes [19], however, research works both on policy

implementation and stakeholder or community participation are understudied.

Management of solid waste is regarded as one of the main issues that have to be

dealt with daily to control the rapid increase of wastes generated by people passing

through towns and cities. Thus, the activities involving waste management are
decided upon and carried out by the different stakeholders including the government

and the individuals populating the city [20]. The government is the one who is mainly

responsible for waste minimization and implementing waste management [21]. The

term “responsible units” refers to the local government units responsible for

implementing ways for waste minimization such as recycling and composting and

almost all of the responsible units which represent about 99% of the population of a

state receive state-funded grants for a portion of the costs of operating the local

waste minimization programs [22]. Although the programs conducted by the

government are for the common good, this may not be successful without the help of

the public. A study emphasized the importance of public participation which

unfortunately receives very little attention [23]. A plethora of researches has

stipulated that participation, attitude, and behavior are important elements in the

success of solid waste management programs in every society [24]. The attitude and

awareness of people affect every stage in the solid waste management process -

from household waste storage to waste segregation, recycling, collection, and waste

disposal [25]. The habit, attitude towards target, punishment, and rewards are

factors affecting human attitude [26]. Attitude can positively be affected through

building awareness campaigns and projects, and education that informs people about

their responsibility as waste contributors and informs the negative effects of improper

waste management in the environment and public health. To prolong and uphold a

waste management system, participation of the community is a prerequisite even by

simply storing wastes in a proper way and time and segregating recyclables from

other wastes. Thus, the conceptualization, formulation and implementation of waste

management must require the understanding and analysis of the beliefs, behavior,
and attitude of community individuals [27].
 Develops clear policies, regulations, standards and
Promotes policy and incentives for Develops standards & incentives for
incentives programs for LGUs & privale sector that will
products w/ less waste. Aggressive operating treatment & disposal facilities.
implement RA 9003. Promote the implementation of the
National educational campaign to encourage the Implements strict EIA procedures for
Nat framework for SWM and extend intensive advisor/
public to choose products w/less waste proposed SWM treatment & disposal
assistance to LGUs in developing their respective SWM
matenals facilities.
plans.

Private Sector participate in the

Changes process, SWM program of government by Given the capital requirement of operating
techrology & Modifies product availing incentives in operating treatment & disposal stes may be attractive
Private
Sector materials in order to packaging w/less recycling & waste recovery only w/private sector particpation.
generate less waste. waste material. facilities. Establishes partnership Establishes partnership w/ LGUs in
with LGUs in operating SWM operating the facilities.
facilities.

Changes buying behavior & chooses Households &

products w/ less waste. Are more practical insfl Households
Household & in their buying habits & brings waste generators practice
Inst'l/Comm'l management as a consideration in practice recycling on
choosing products. For insfl & comm'l segregation & materials that
Generators
generators, promote a "green procurement wastes can be
policy" that favors the selection of products according to recycled.
that generate less waste. reusability.

Barangay

Plan & implement RA 9003 by a) formulating the mun. SWM plan b) implementing & operating its
Develop its own elements that includes among others the setting up of segregated collection & transport schedules &
Municipality/
City public education procedures, setting up of MRFs, collaborating w/ brgys., & monitoring & enforcement & c) closure of
program for SWM. open dumpsites. Where feasible & depending on the economic standing, particularly of cities can operate
& manage final treatment & disposal sites.

In collaboration w/ municipalities, plans & implement RA 9003 by a) formulating the provincial or metro
Develop its own wide SWM plan, b) implementing and operating its elements that includes among others the setting up of
Province or
public education segregated collection & transport scheds, & procedures, setting up of MRFs, collaborating w/ brgys., &
Metro wide monitoring & enforcement Operate & manage final treatment & disposal sites in partnership w/ private
program for SWM.
sector.

Figure 1 Level of governance in Philippine solid waste management [17].

The target level for both barangay residents and implementers are 100% compliance
with the mandate of the Act whose indicators are manifested in the SWM components

being assessed in this study. These indicators include the segregation of wastes,

collection, and transport, reuse and recycle programs, composting, incentives, public

information, and information, penalties, and fines. The legislation describes

segregation as a solid waste management method by separating multiple waste

stream products to facilitate resource recovery and reuse and decrease the volume of

waste to be collected and disposed of. The law further directs that Material Recovery

Facilities (MRFs) shall be set in every barangay or cluster of barangays. The MRF

comprises a solid waste transfer station or sorting station, a drop-off center, a

composting facility, and a recycling facility. MRFs assist to reduce the volume of

wastes to be disposed of primarily through recycling, composting, and residual

treatment. The waste management act outlines collection of waste as the policy of

removing solid waste from the source or a shared storage point. The law additionally

orders the use of separate collection vehicles, schedules, and/or separate trucks or

haulers for specific types of wastes. The vehicles used for solid waste processing and

transport have sufficient compartments to allow the effective handling of segregated

waste during transit. LGUs are mainly accountable for the collection of solid wastes.

Waste segregation and collection are carried out primarily for biodegradable/ com-

postable and reusable/recyclable waste at the barangay level.

Materials and methods

1) Research location

Cebu City is located in the Central Eastern part of Cebu Island, bounded in the

North by Mandaue City and in the South by Talisay City, and Mactan Channel in the

East and municipality of Balamban and Toledo in the West. Figure 2 shows the
location map of the study area.

At present, Cebu is the second-largest city next to Metro Manila, the country’s

capital. Because of its strategic location and ease of access by air and sea transport,

industries like tourism and information and communication technology, Cebu City has

become a notable urban city with 50 out of 80 barangays considered urban [28]. The

city produces about 500 t of MSW per day or a total of 182, 500 t a -1 [18]. Due to the

rapid urban and economic growth in the city, the daily MSW generation has increased

almost double from 212 t in 1982 to 500 t in 2010. However, it was estimated that

only 315 t d-1 of MSW or 114, 500 t a-1 of MSW per year ends up being dumped into

the sanitary landfill. According to the city officials, the rest is recycled by the formal

and informal sectors.

While there is no exact data on actual per capita waste generation in the city, it was

estimated that each of the Cebu City residents generates about 500 g d -1of MSW.

Cebu City is yet to perfect the implementation of its segregated garbage collection

system. Barangay residents continue to mix biodegradable with their non-

biodegradable wastes. According to city data, MSW collection coverage is 100%.

However, in some instances, uncollected garbage is left to pile up on city streets, in

the interior of (Eq. 1) barangays, and even left floating on

water bodies because of the lack of garbage trucks that will bring these to the city's

transfer station at the landfill. In this event, the conduct of this study is seen as

relevant.

Four barangays were selected in the study namely Guadalupe, San Nicolas,

Talamban, and Lahug. Barangays Guadalupe and San Nicolas were dubbed as

violators of RA 9003 in the city last 2014. These barangays were charged for

improper waste disposal and the garbage policy such as the “No-segregation, No-

collection” policy is not implemented. On the other hand, Talamban and Lahug are

two of the populated barangays with no record of SWM violations.

2) Methods

The total number of sample population per barangay was identified using Slovin’s

formula with a 95% confidence level which resulted as follows: 382 for Guadalupe;

380 for San Nicolas and Talamban and 381 for Lahug. The formula for Slovin’s is

shown in Eq. 1 in which n is the sample or portion of the population that participated

in this study, N is the total population under study and e represents the error margin

(1+N-e 1 )
1 Status of waste segregation
 The total number of respondents was 1,523. Thirty (30) Barangay Environmental

Officers (BEO) and staff were also interviewed in this study. These BEOs are tasked

with implementing and monitoring government provisions. A descriptive quantitative

method was used in which survey questionnaires served as the primary tool of data

gathering supplemented with unstructured interviews.

Two sets of survey questionnaires were employed with a retrieval rate of 95% for

Guadalupe and Talamban and 99% for San Nicolas and Lahug. The first set evaluated

the solid waste management practices of the selected barangay residents or the

waste generators. The questionnaires assessed compliance in RA 9003. The second

set of questionnaires evaluated the extent of compliance of the Barangay

Environmental Officers (BEO) to RA 9003. The respondents were assigned to answer

the questions that are answerable by a 4-point scale. Table 1 showed the scale used

with the corresponding quantitative and qualitative values. Weighted mean was used

to calculate the gathered data for each indicator. The weighted mean was used to

determine the level of compliance for both sets of respondents.

Results and discussion

1) Scenarios of solid waste management

practices

The results of the implementation of waste segregation in the four barangays of Cebu City,
Philippines are shown in Figure 3. Segregation of wastes among the barangays is done most of the time
with an overall weighted mean of 3.06. Among the barangays, Lahug and Talamban practiced
segregation of waste all the time because
4) Status of 3R programs
Recycling as a waste management practice shows promise as it enables valorization of MSW’s that
are deemed recyclables and at the same time provide job opportunities among participating
stakeholders [32]. Recycling programs at home as shown in Figure 5 are practiced by Lahug and
Talamban most of the time while Guadalupe and San Nicolas only practiced recycling occasionally.
 The activities included in SWM practices in Cebu City include (1) segregation of

waste, (2) collection and transport of solid waste, (3) recycling programs, (4)

composting, (5) incentives, (6) penalties and fines, (7) public education and

information as well as (8) facilities for final disposal. SM 2 and SM 3 further show the

detailed result showing the weighted and composite means of each criterion as

evaluated by the residents and the barangay health workers.

Table 1 The rating scale used by the respondents

Residents Barangay Environmental Officers
kjtdlC
Description Implication Description Implication
4 All the time If practiced in all cases; Great extent If complied in all cases;
7 d in a week 76-100% complied
3 Most of the If practiced in the Moderate extent If complied in the
time majority of the cases; majority of the cases;
done 4-6 d in a week 51-75% complied
2 On rare If practiced in some of Less extent If complied in some of
occasion the cases; done 1-3 d the cases; 1-50%
in a week complied
1 Not at all If not practiced at all; Not complied If not complied at all;
none at all zero compliance

In SM 2, it is shown that the majority of the variables being assessed are done

most of the time. However, looking into the details, there are specific areas that are

performed on an occasional basis. These among others are the unavailability of

garbage truck covers, the utilization of the MRFs, and the giving out of incentives for

good performing households as far as SWM practice is concerned. The majority of the

least performed aspects dealt with budget consideration and technical know-how.

This can be linked to the result of the assessment of the BEOs. SM 3 presented the

assessment result of the BEOs as far as implementation is concerned at the barangay

level. The garbage trucks provided by the barangays in the initial stage of implemen-

tation are substandard. It does not conform to the minimum requirements set.

Moreover, the absence of MRFs in the barangays is the core reason why residents did

not utilize it at all. In some barangays, based on the observation done in this study,

the MRFs are present but it did not conform to the design specifications of a good

and functional MRFs. It can be well noted in the result that funding for SWM

programs is insufficient at the barangay level. From the perspective of the BEO, there

are low funds allocated for solid waste management from the city government. There

is a huge reduction in the budget which affects the materials needed in solid waste

management as well as manpower whose work is to ensure these tasks. Budget

allocation at the time the research was conducted was affected by the transition of

2
LGU officials which the officials call political biases.
these barangays implement strict segregation while Guadalupe and San Nicolas

segregate waste on rare occasions because of time constraints in segregating and the

unavailability of segregation bins provided in the locality. In the actual observation

done, residents did not segregate their waste all the time because of the lack of

garbage bins available in their areas. There are some garbage bins personally

provided by residents but are only limited thus, these hinder them from segregating

waste according to types. Further, cultural and behavioral norms are also observed to

be a culprit of this scenario.

LahugTalambanGuadalupeSanNicolas

Figure 3 Status of waste segregation

implementation by policy implementers in

selected barangays of Cebu City, Philippines

assessed by residents.

It can be noted that local barangays implement waste segregation with less extent

having an average weighted mean of 2.17. Both barangay Guadalupe and San Nicolas

did not provide separate containers for each type of waste in every household as

mandated in RA 9003. Therefore, the segregation of wastes at its initial stage of

implementation in the barangay level has not complied. This result coincides with the

study in which social behaviors between urban areas tend to become a barrier to

waste segregation at source [19]. This indicates that there is a need to include

measures of behavioral

changes among citizens as an aspect of MSW management policies. These among

others the voluntary participation of the house-holds in the waste segregation drive

even with the absence of garbage bins provided by the barangays.

3) Status of collection and transport of waste

The results for the collection and transport of solid wastes are shown in Figure 4.

This aspect is specified into three indicators: (1) provision of personal protective

equipment or PPE; (2) on-time collection of waste; and (3) condition of garbage

collection trucks, i.e. provision of covers and odor control. Generally, the collection

and transport of waste in each of the barangays are done most of the time and to a

moderate extent. In terms of wearing PPE in handling solid wastes and on-time

collection of garbage, these indicators are found to be done most of the time with a

weighted mean of 2.75 and 2.74, respectively. Garbage collectors and other

personnel are provided with personal protective equipment to protect them from

hazards of handling wastes and the necessary training with regards to proper

handling of waste. However, it was revealed that garbage trucks being used in the

collection do not have covers in some areas, thus foul odor can be sensed around the

community. Also, the collection efficiency of MSW’s in some barangays is low because

of inconsistency in the collection system. It has been observed that the collection is

only observed in areas where there is road access for garbage trucks to route.

Uncollected waste often lies outside the designated bins in most of the urban areas
due to inappropriate design, capacity, location, and poor attitude of the community

towards using bins. It is observed that the uncollected waste is generally burnt in

open areas or on the streets. Furthermore, results revealed that there is no separate

garbage truck or vehicle used for a specific type of waste. Nonetheless, most of the

time though, the observance of a definite schedule for garbage collection indicating

the day and time the garbage truck at the particular vicinity to collect garbage is

mostly observed.

4.0
LahugTalambanGuadalupeSanNicolas

Personal protective equipment of waste collectors'^ Solid waste trainings ll I

Appropriate garbage truck used I IOn-time schedule of collection

[Proper solid waste handling ^Provision of transfer stations

Figure 4 Status of collection and transport of waste in selected barangays of Cebu

City, Philippines as assessed by (a) residents and (b) barangay environmental

officers.
| Practice recycling at home

| Patronize recycled products and use of "green" shopping bags I Ba ran gay

encourage local markets to produce goods from post-consumer materials I Go to the

junkshop/drop-off center in the barangayto see/give recyclable wastes

3.5

LahugTalambanGuadalupeSanNicolas

Separate collection for recyclable and special waste I I Prohibition on the use of non-

environ mentally acceptable packaging

Figure 5 Status of recycling programs in

selected barangays of Cebu City, Philippines

 as assessed by (a) residents and (b) barangay

environmental officers.

Patronizing recycled products and using environmentally friendly and reusable

shopping bags are done most of the time with an overall weighted mean of 2.54 for

the four barangays. However, barangays Talamban, Guadalupe, and San Nicolas

rarely sell their recyclable wastes in the junk shops due to the low exchange value of

the wastes being sold and the absence of nearby junk shops as claimed by the

residents. This further means that the residents of these three barangays have not

efficiently utilized the materials resource facilities (MRF’s) that are provided. The

presence of MRFs in the ba- rangay is implemented in some cases only with an

average mean of 2.37. This means that the MRF is not fully utilized by the residents

as it is intended to be. The MRFs supposedly functions as a sorting facility. When this

waste is sorted, they can be sold to junkshops for reuse or recycling while the

biodegradables are processed into composts.

Generally, the recycling program of Cebu City as assessed by the barangay officials

is practiced to a less extent with a mean of 2.01. The result shows that there is no

separate collection system or convenient drop-off locations for recyclable materials

and particularly for separated toxic components of the waste stream like dry cell

batteries and tires to ensure that they are not incinerated or disposed of in the

landfill. In the BEO interview, officers do not accept batteries, broken bulbs, and

other toxic wastes in the collection. The prohibition on the use of non-

environmentally acceptable packaging is practiced to a less extent. Also, there is no

market opportunity for recycled products and no encouragement to local makers to

produce goods from post-consumer materials. Thus, the motivational aspect at the
household level in the recycling advocacy has not complied.

5) Status of composting

In terms of composting, residents of Talamban practice composting at their

respective homes all the time which can be seen in Figure 6. On the contrary,

Guadalupe and San Nicolas revealed that composting is rarely practiced because of

issues on the technical capability of the residents. There is no composting training

done at the barangay level, as well as there are inadequate spaces in the barangays

for such waste minimization programs to take place. Composting is a method that is

found to apply to the biodegradable component of MSW. Barangay environmental

officers’ promotion of composting of organic wastes by making compost from kitchen

and garden wastes is practiced to a less extent. Households in barangays Lahug and

Talamban practiced composting at home to a moderate extent while barangays

Guadalupe and San Nicolas do not apply to compost their waste. Based on

observation and further investigation is done, lack of space in their backyards and no

education and training on the composting techniques and methods are the identified

factors for not complying. These results agree in which the application of this method

is still a challenge in developing countries due to various factors, in which the most

dominant is odor generation [17]. Composting should be implemented in parallel with

waste segregation at the source.

 Figure 6 Status of composting in selected barangays of Cebu City, Philippines as

assessed by residents and barangay environmental officers.

6) Status of public education and information

Information provided by the respondents as far as public information and

education is concerned revealed that awareness activities about the solid waste

management program are conducted. Among the seven SWM practices, public

information and education are highly implemented with an average weighted mean of

3.11 which can be seen in Figure 7.

Barangay provides information, education or awareness activities about the SWM

program.
 Information, education and communication campaign aboutthe SWM within the

barangay are sustained.

Figure 7 Status of public education and

information in selected barangays of Cebu

City, Philippines as assessed by residents and

barangay environmental officers.

This means that the government is exerting efforts to disseminate the goals and

objectives of the environmental campaign. However, it should also be well noted that

the respondents’ responses demonstrated irregularity in this area since barangay

Guadalupe falls under the “on rare occasion” category. This further entails that there

is still inconsistency in the implementation of this awareness program and can be

concluded that education and training seminars may not be disseminated fairly well to

the residents.

A previous study highlights that the Cebu City Government, especially the Office of

the Environmental Committee has recognized that the implementation of the SWM

program depends on the level of environmental awareness among its community to

ensure their active participation [8]. A system was established by recruiting at least

five volunteers from each barangay with community-leadership elements, known as

BEOs, to serve as the main initiator of these education campaigns. For this reason,

BEOs have become an important medium through which the Cebu City government

can communicate its policies to citizens at the barangay level.

7) Status of final disposal

The implementation of SWM practice in terms of facilities for final disposal among
select barangays has not complied at all with an average weighted mean of 1.67.

Figure 8 shows the result.

During the interview, the barangay official said that the local government unit of

Cebu City has not converted the open dumps into controlled dumps as to prohibit the

use of open dumps for solid wastes. Controlled dumpsites do not have adequate soil

cover for sanitary landfill of nonbiodegradable and non-recyclable wastes. This shows

that dumpsite operators are not able to provide adequate supervision of sufficient

qualified personnel to ensure proper operation of the site in compliance with all

applicable laws, regulations, permit conditions, and other requirements. Insufficient

funds allocated for the modernization of facilities are one of the main reasons for

non-compliance in the barangay level as revealed by the respondents.

Figure 8 Status of final disposal in selected barangays of Cebu City, Philippines as

assessed by barangay environmental officers.

8) Status of incentives, penalties, and fines

At the barangay level, the recycling initiatives implemented by the city government

primarily aimed at encouraging solid waste segregation at its source with fines for
violations and supporting the development of a special fund for incentives are

partially preserved. The results of which are presented in Figure 9.

Figure 9 Status of incentives, penalties, and fines in selected barangays of Cebu

City, Philippines as assessed by (a) residents and (b) barangay environmental

officers.

Lahug Talamban Guadalupe San

Nicolas

The implementation of incentives as a waste management practice in barangays is

found to be on rare occasions with an average weighted mean of 2.31. Incentive

scheme for individuals or group who enthusiastically participates in the solid waste

management activities of the barangay is less implemented since most of the

respondents rated it as not at all implemented in the barangay level. This is one of

the substantial reasons why the implementation of RA 9003 is insufficiently

administered. With no incentive given in place for those active individuals, dedication

and drive will die down. The necessity of paying more attention to intrinsic and

extrinsic factors is important. This has become an important attribute to warrant

sustainable waste management [30].

Generally, incentive schemes are practiced to a less extent among the selected

barangays. For best implementers of RA 9003, these are practiced to a moderate

extent while some barangays did not give rewards or incentives to those individuals

or groups who have undertaken outstanding techniques, projects, or technologies

related to re-use, recycling, and reduction of solid waste. However, the imposition of

penalties and fines to violating individuals are practiced to a moderate extent. It can

be concluded based on the findings that the Cebu Environmental Sanitation and

Enforcement Team (CESET) have exerted efforts in the enforcement of this policy.

9) Other developing countries issues of ineffective waste management

policy

Similar to the Philippines, some developing countries in Asia had its bout of

challenges as far as waste policy implementation is concerned. In China, many

citizens cannot effectively and correctly separate different kinds of solid wastes. The

participation of citizens in source separation needs to be improved in some regions

and the absence of a waste composting facility is identified. Further, poor data
management and ineffective methods towards informal waste management activities

cause formally implemented waste management measures to be ineffective [33].

Meanwhile, Malaysia has identified that poor governance in the ground, lack of

commitment among stakeholders, poor monitoring and policy enforcement as well as

the neglect of social dimension’s participation in the policymaking and feedbacking

are the primary causes of the low success rate of its waste policy [34]. Vietnam’s no

clear-cut competence in solid waste management for certain authorities causes

overlapping of responsibilities, thus, accountability among the various authorities

regarding solid waste management is difficult. In Indonesia, there are still constraints

in the success of its policy because public awareness and community participation are

still lacking and public knowledge about waste management is very limited [35].

Thailand’s technical issues on waste management are considered to be the top

contributing factor for its unavailing policy implementation. Such technical issues

include having no sufficient number of garbage trucks and the ineffective and ineffi-

cient waste collection system on frequency and routes and the lack of establishment

of a recycling and composting facility [36].

Conclusions

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management has become one of the most pressing

environmental concerns of the Philippines at present. The research gap of analyzing

the relations of non-compliance for both policy implementers and the community are

looked into. The result of the study provides general direction for the further

development of the county’s solid waste management system in the future by

analyzing the underlying reasons for ineffective solid waste management policies.

The findings of this study showed that despite the city’s efforts to implement
effective compliance with the provisions of RA 9003, the selected barangays have not

fully implemented the law. Sufficient fund allocation is crucial to the full compliance of

the RA. Facilities for final disposal is considered necessary since implementers have

not controlled the dumpsites that include the adequacy of soil cover or sanitary

landfill for non-biodegradable. The prohibition of using open dumps for solid waste is

not followed due to the lack of barangay environment officials.

 Thus, effective measures for recycling and composting should be undertaken to

encourage higher participation among residents of the barangay. The presence of

effective, functional, and marketable MRF and convenient drop off locations for

recyclable materials will ensure final sorting according to its type for composting and

recycling. Door - to - door waste collection service as per the law is also highly

recommended. Incentives, penalties, and fines should be implemented and given so

that residents will be motivated to reduce their waste and recycle more.

The requirements of the legislation would necessitate environmentally sustainable

approaches to improve resource use and facilitate the conservation and recovery of

resources; established strategies and targets for the avoidance and volume reduction

of solid waste by steps to minimize source and waste minimization; guarantee proper

segregation, collection, transport, storage, treatment and disposal of solid waste. The

implementation of the legislation puts a larger responsibility on the local government

units to find forms and means to enhance the local level of solid waste management.

The local government units need to provide leadership and persistence at the

municipality and barangay levels to ensure that waste avoidance and mitigation are in

operation. In encouraging compliance with solid waste management rules and

regulations, local ordinances that provide a framework for the successful enforcement

of national legislation are essential. As a support tool, awareness and education

campaigns should be conducted in connection with the issuance of the decree.

The Philippine state of policy implementation is not far from the issues at hand

confronted by the neighboring developing countries. It is imperative therefore that

solid waste management policies be strictly implemented and enforced to ensure a

high level of compliance. The stakeholders’ participation needs to be considered to

take into account fundamental reasons for non-compliance and arrive at a viable

solution to achieve the utmost cooperation as far as solid waste management

practices at the household level are concerned. This could be done by a stakeholder

and policymaker forum and discussion where each party can share sentiments and

suggestions on how to come up with a sound solid waste management plan.

Acknowledgment

The authors of this study would like to thank Cebu Technological University and

my colleagues Dr. June Rey Villegas, Dr. Melanie Albarracin, and Ms. Mariel Remo,

University of San Carlos and Department of Budget Management. To the local

government unit of Cebu City especially residents and officials of barangays

Guadalupe, San Nicolas, Lahug, and Talamban for the support and cooperation in the

completion of this study.

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