Several local government units (LGUs) without sanitary landfills have struggled to dispose of municipal waste, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reported Saturday.

“There are lower-class municipalities that, aside from having no place to build a landfill within their jurisdiction, also do not have much funding to even send their garbage to other areas with landfills,” DENR Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said in DZRH special coverage, adding that the focus should remain on the 3Rs — reduce, reuse and recycle.

Cuna stressed that solid waste management begins at the barangay level, pointing out that the law assigns LGUs responsibility for managing solid waste within their respective jurisdictions.

“Everyone really needs to work together,” he said.

Data from the DENR showed that 1,416 of 1,502 LGUs, or 89 percent, have approved and implemented solid waste management plans.

The agency said its role includes education, capacity building and providing technical assistance to local governments for waste management.

Meanwhile, Cuna noted that clogged drainage systems contribute to flooding and waste accumulation in highly urbanized cities (HUCs).

DENR on Parañaque trash

Cuna said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. used the term “garbage crisis” in reference to the trash in Parañaque City during the recent period of heavy rains.

According to Cuna, the term does not necessarily mean all the garbage came from the city, as some may have been carried from other areas by the flow of water after a trash trap was damaged.

“There are trash traps installed by the MMDA [Metropolitan Manila Development Authority] in different areas to catch the garbage that goes into our esteros and waterways,” the DENR chief said.

“But for that particular day, perhaps because of the strong flow of water due to the rains, the trash trap moved, causing the garbage to accumulate in the area visited by the President,” he added.

Marcos announced that the government would continue its waste-to-energy program, which collects, processes and converts waste into electricity.

Ombudsman reacts to waste-to-energy plan, fines for unsegregated waste

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla reacted to the waste-to-energy initiative, noting that the culture of proper waste management must first be understood.

“It is easy to say to put up waste-to-energy, but still we need to understand the culture of waste,” Remulla said during his Saturday radio session, responding to his co-host’s comments about waste-to-energy systems in foreign countries and their application in the Philippines.

“Because wet garbage has a different composition, it should really be separated,” he added.

Remulla pointed out that waste segregation is not widely observed in the country.

He emphasized that LGUs must enforce proper waste collection and segregation.

“It is up to the LGUs; they have the budget,” he said, noting that local governments are the enforcing agencies responsible for implementing solid waste management.

The Ombudsman also stressed that LGUs should not collect unsegregated waste and should impose fines on individuals who fail to properly segregate their garbage.