Waste segregation more crucial amid pandemic

MANILA, Philippines — Waste segregation at source has become more critical amid the pandemic as the volume of potentially infectious waste from household sources is growing, an official of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) said on Tuesday.

Given these circumstances under the “new normal,” reduction in waste generation must be given priority, while garbage collection systems must quickly respond to this growing concern, said Crispian Lao, NSWMC vice chair who represents the private sector in the commission.

As the lockdown has radically changed lifestyle and habits, consumption patterns in the country have also shifted. For instance, deliveries, ranging from food to other essentials, have slowly become the norm as people hunkered down in their homes during the quarantine.

Increase in health-care wastes

“This led to increased waste from household sources, and reduced waste from commercial and industrial sources,” Lao said in an online discussion on plastics in food packaging in the country.

Due to lockdown restrictions, recycling activities have been put on hold.

As COVID-19 is still spreading in the country, there is a sharp increase in medical waste, according to Lao.

These need to be treated, disinfected and disposed of in dedicated cells in sanitary landfills in line with regulations set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Health.

“There is also another category of waste coming from households, which includes masks, that may be potentially infectious,” said Lao, who is also president of the Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability.

Since the threat of cross-contamination is very high, disposable masks and other similar materials must be separated and placed into yellow bins or bags to avoid the possible spread of infection.

“We need to have personal protective equipment for haulers and separate containers for infectious waste,” Lao said.

Segregation of waste at source is mandatory under Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, with local governments supposedly in charge.

Despite penalties for violations, the 20-year-old law remains poorly implemented.

During the COVID-19 outbreak in Hubei in China, infectious medical waste reportedly shot up 600 percent, from 40 tons per day to 240 daily, overwhelming medical transport and disposal infrastructure around hospitals.

Based on this data, Manila may face an additional 280 tons of medical waste per day, among the highest in major Asian cities, according to a briefer from Asian Development Bank released in April.

Still handling it

Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda, who oversees solid waste and local government concerns, said the hazardous waste in the country had yet to reach alarming levels.

“We have ample facilities that can take care of this. We are still handling it,” he said in an interview.

But he noted that some hospitals were already improvising their garbage collection, as their vaults for these types of waste began to fill.

In a letter to the Department of the Interior and Local Government in April, the DENR endorsed stricter measures in the collection and management of solid waste from quarantine and health-care facilities nationwide, including the repeated disinfection of garbage bags, garbage trucks and disposal areas.

Worst-case option

Antiporda also said the proposal for incinerating potentially infectious waste through the use of crematoriums remained on the table, but only as a worst-case option.

Calling this an “exploratory action,” he said the advisory issued by the Environmental Management Bureau in April was not a direct order. “If we are left with no choice, then we will do this,” he said.

Environment and health watchdog EcoWaste Coalition earlier called the move “highly unacceptable,” citing violations in the Clean Air Act and the Code of Sanitation, as well as a cause for potential delays in the use of crematoria for human remains.