RECYCLING IS FAILING

RECYCLING IS FAILING

Dear Mr. President: Perhaps it has already come to your attention Sir, that the recycling of paper, plastic, metals and glass is failing in the Philippines. As it is supposed to be, recycling should be done at both the residential and commercial levels, but that does not seem to be happening. I am now recycling in my own residence but sadly, I observed that the garbage collectors do nothing but dump all the bags into the trucks, thus defeating the purpose of recycling. I have also observed in several commercial establishments that they just mix all the segregated recyclables into one bigger bag, again defeating the purpose of recycling.

Despite the many years that the government has been trying to convince to the private residences to segregate, and the commercial establishments too, our recycling programs are still failing, and that is why there are still lots of garbage that are brought to both landfills and dumpsites. As the saying goes, Mr. President, the definition of stupidity “is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. Having said that, is it not about time Sir, that we try a new approach?

The approach I have in mind Sir, is not actually new. It is an old method that we could just revive. I am referring Sir, to the practice of households collecting and selling old newspapers and empty bottles to itinerant buyers. I am recommending the revival of that practice but with a slight modification. In the new method, we should buy everything by the kilo, and not by the “inch” as we used to sell old newspapers, and not by the piece, as we used to sell used bottles.

Since newspapers are no longer popular nowadays, it is more practical to sell scrap paper by the kilo, because they now come in many forms and sizes. The same thing with plastic, selling these by the kilo is the only way to do it, because these also come in many forms and sizes. That also applies to used glass bottles, because they now come in many forms and sizes. Before the advent of globalization, the two-way glass bottles in the market were easy to sell back, but that is no longer the case now, because there are many imported one-way glass bottles now.

Strictly speaking, “recyclables” are not “garbage”, because they have commercial value. That of course depends on whether they are collected or not. When they are not collected, they become “garbage”. However, there is still a “second chance” for these “garbage” to become “recyclable” again, if they could be recovered within a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Unfortunately, Mr. President, very few barangays have implemented the laws requiring them to operate MRFs, and that is possibly one problem that you could solve, by issuing a new Executive Order to that effect.

Although recycling is technically the function of the DENR, I believe that the DILG is in a better position to enforce the laws pertaining to recycling, including the operation of MRFs. An exception could be the National Capital Region, where the MMDA could be the more appropriate implementing agency. In closing Mr. President, perhaps you might want to investigate ways and means to improve the business of the so-called “junk shops”? These lowly small businesses could become very important players in the overall ecosystem of waste management, but they are now generally undercapitalized, and they could easily become the victims of extortions from some corrupt government officials. IKE SENERES/10-17-2024