March 15, 2005
A Pilot Program of Waste Super-Segregation
I have not mentioned much about work in a while. I moved to a new municipality last month, and hit the ground running. I’ve been observing the public market, riding the municipal garbage truck, attending planning sessions, explaining to neighbors that burning trash causes great harm to more than just the ozone layer (think lungs—asthma and cancer) among other things.
I fall asleep thinking about trash, and wake up in a garbage state of mind. I am thankful I am not the type who remembers my dreams. My fellow Peace Corps volunteers say I’m obsessed. The locals have called me hinuktuk, which translates to a similarly. I’m going to Bikol next week for a short vacation (it’s Holy Week, which means nothing gets done) and I’ve been warned against uttering words relating to Solid Waste Management.
The idea below is still in the infancy stage. It was inspired somewhat by the thrilling and suspenseful book Rubbish: The Archeology of Garbage, What Our Garbage Tells Us About Ourselves . The good people at The Garbage Project dig up landfills and sort trash into a ridiculous number of categories and sub-categories. This program should be easier on the eyes and nose, and perhaps attract less flies. (Of course, the purpose is different.)
I have never heard of a similar project for community collection. If you have, please let me know. And if you have any suggestions or criticisms, bring it!
A PILOT PROGRAM OF WASTE SUPER-SEGREGATION
DESCRIPTION:
At the barangay hall, place picture-coded or physical-representation-coded waste receptacles for various and numerous types of waste, in order to encourage better waste segregation-at-source and segregation-near-source habits.
BACKGROUND:
Until now, people, here and in many other places, have ignored the instructions on segregated waste receptacles. There are a few reasons we assume that people ignore the instructions:
- People confuse the meanings of “malata” (biodegradable) and “di-malata” (non-biodegradable) (ie. some people think that cellophane are “malata” or leaves are “di-malata”)
- People also confuse the color codings (what does green mean vs. what does red mean?)
- People can’t or don’t read the instructional words on the receptacles (especially young children and old people with poor vision)
- Even though the wastes generated are in different types and quantities, the receptacles are all the same size. That means if the proper receptacles are already full, the people will throw to the not-yet-full improper receptacles
- Waste collectors often dump all wastes (regardless of type of waste) in same dump truck, so people think their efforts are pointless
ACTION PLAN:
- Make a series of variable size receptacles on the eastern side of the Barangay Hall of Eastern Poblacion
- We will affix to each receptacle a picture or actual example (physical representation) of the proper item, as well as a written description of what should be disposed in that receptacle
- In some cases, the containers have an exact sized hole in the cover, in order to allow disposal of that item, but prevent disposal of improper items (for example, a small round hole for bottle caps, which will prevent throwing of larger items, such as bottles or kitchen waste.)
- Some examples of receptacles:
o Cellophanes
o Junkfood wrappers, food seasoning sachets
o Juice and ice candy wrappers
o Ice water wrappers
o Hard plastics (like cigarette lighters or broken toys)
o Tin cans
o Disposable plastics cups
o Popsicle (ice bar) sticks, barbeque sticks
o Shampoo sachets
o Plastic bottles (like water or soda)
o Bottle caps (tansans)
o Cigarette pack wrappers
o Fruit and vegetable kitchen wastes
o Diapers, pads, and sanitary napkins
o Batteries
o Other “special” hazardous waste
- Place signs above receptacles in the local dialect (Bisayan):
o Please Respect Our Community Waste Segregation Project, Please Place Items in the Proper Receptacles
o This is one easy way to help our children to have a healthy and clean environment and a better place to live now and forever
o If you have questions about this project please ask Elvie, Daniel, Barangay Chairman, Kagawads, Tanods, or purok leaders
RATIONALE:
- Pictures or physical representations on waste receptacles are self-explanatory. There will be less confusion about where to dispose a certain kind of waste (for example, where do I put cellophane or leafs or batteries?)
- This super-segregation is very specific. We should be able to recover certain items for re-use, recycling or art projects
- A place to properly and easily segregate waste nearby may encourage and simplify household segregation-at-source efforts
- Children might enjoy this activity and see it as a kind of a game
EDUCATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES:
- We will inform the Barangay Chairman, Kagawads and Tanods, as well as purok leaders, about our Waste Super-Segregation Program (either through barangay session, purok meeting or home visits.) Because this program is quite simple, it should not take long to fully explain the program
- We will inform the residents nearby the barangay hall about this program through informal methods
- If participation is low, we will use a trysikad as a mobile education unit to quickly demonstrate the program around the neighborhood
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- containers
- pictures or physical representations of all the various kind of wastes we will be collecting
- glue (to affix pictures or physical representations to the receptacles)
- paper, computer, and plastic coverings (for the signs)
- trysikad (in case we do mobile education)
BUDGET:
- The budget for this program should be minimal, as most of the materials are already available, and the education component is all local and does not require vehicular transportation
EVALUATION/MONITORING:
- On a daily basis, we will inspect the receptacles in order to see if the people are segregating their waste properly
- Count certain items in order to establish records of use of the receptacles
- We should also determine how people are keeping the wastes in their homes (whether or not they are pre-segregating, and by what means)
NEXT STEPS:
- If this program shows signs of success, we will write Bisayan and English manual so that other puroks and barangays and the Metro-Tagbilaran cluster municipalities can replicate our program, if they chose to do so
- In June, when school is back in session, we will try to implement similar waste super-segregation at the central elementary school and at the barangay high school. When Daniel transfers to his nipa hut (once it is constructed,) he will try to replicate the super-segregation project in the market
- Establish a transfer station at the back of the municipal hall for the segregated residual waste. (If there is no foul odor, perhaps we can keep the wastes there until the sanitary landfill is established.) We also need to arrange a system to deliver the wastes to the transfer station (i.e. who will do the transfer, and how often the waste will be transferred)
- Plan and implement a compost-system for the biodegradable waste
- Make a video to educate the people about proper segregation at source and engage their hearts and minds in proper solid waste management
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PREPARED BY:
ELVIE L. IRAG AND DANIEL B. SIMON
March 14, 2005