DENR urges households to segregate suspected hazardous waste

ENHANCED EXPOSURE A garbage collector does a balancing act while stacking up bags of trash on a moving dump truck en route to a waste transfer station in Barangay Santo Niño, Marikina City, in this photo taken on April 11.  —LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Wednesday urged households, especially those with individuals undergoing home quarantine, to segregate used face masks and other personal protective equipment to help keep garbage collectors safe from the coronavirus disease.

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said that while the disposal of PPEs in the country is being done accordingly, it could be a challenge in the future if the number of COVID-19 cases in the country continues to swell.

Cimatu said strict sanitation measures and proper disposal of wastes are necessary during this time of pandemic to ensure also the health and safety of garbage collectors.

Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda, DENR spokesperson and head of the department’s solid waste management, also encouraged households to separately dispose of used face masks, gloves and other COVID-related protection gear.

“That’s why we are trying to encourage households to segregate it well. Ang mangyayari ngayon, meron tayong tinatawag na recycable, biodegradable, of course yung residual. Ngayon meron pa tayong tinatawag na suspected hazardous waste,” Antiporda said during an online press briefing that coincides with the 33rd anniversary of DENR.

(What’s happening now is we have what we call recyclable, biodegrade, and of course the residual waste. Now, we will also have what we call suspected hazardous waste.)

Antiporda said households should separate suspected hazardous waste in a plastic container and inform garbage collectors of its content.

According to Antiporda, the used PPEs are being brought to treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facilities where there are special cells for the treatment of suspected hazardous waste before it is disposed of.

He said the DENR’s environmental management bureau continues to explore other ways of dealing with possible hazardous waste, although he said the actions of the department are currently sufficient.

“But we are not letting our guards down,” he assured.

The DENR official also said it issued a memorandum addressed to the Department of the Interior and Local Government to seek assistance in informing service providers that they should ensure that garbage collectors are wearing sufficient PPEs at work.

“Sad to say, marami pa rin ang hindi sumusunod. We are calling on them to act on it and to avoid na magkasakit ang kanilang mga tao,” he said.

(Sad to say, there are still a lot who don’t follow. We are calling on them to act on it and to help their people avoid being sick.)

Antiporda added that hospitals also have temporary storage facilities where used PPEs are treated first before being transported to sanitary landfills as he also assured that Filipinos are safe from COVID-19 in terms of disposal of garbage.