The Philippines is a beautiful country that unfortunately has a number of important environmental issues which need to be dealt with. One of these critical issues is with regard to the mismanagement of garbage and wastes in the country which causes other types of environmental disasters such as flooding, erosion, landslides and other dangers on landfills and dumpsites that include health concerns among the people living nearby.Â
The Philippines has one of the highest amount of solid waste generated in the world yet, still has no sustainable and effective waste disposal facility. Given the perennial garbage problems in the Philippines which harm the environment, waste management is indeed a necessary step to resolve and minimize all garbage-related problems in the country. In a recent study about the garbage problems in the Philippines, studies revealed that in Metro Manila alone, an estimate of 8,000 tons of solid waste are generated daily. However, only 6,000 tons end up in legal waste facilities while the rest are illegally dumped in private lands, creeks, rivers and at times, are even burned openly . What is even more alarming is the fact that the rate of increase in the amount of garbage or waste produced on a daily basis, significantly increases. Apparently, most landfills and garbage dumpsites filled up very fast. As such, there is a great danger that the country may run out of proper dumpsites and waste facilities that will ultimately lead to further environmental and human hazards.
The Philippine government recognizes the fact that there are many possible solutions to address the ever-growing problem on waste generation. Unfortunately, there are also many given constraints to totally eradicate this huge garbage problem in the country. Nevertheless, amidst all the present issues on the perennial garbage problems in the country which constantly harm the environment, it is still important to go back to the basics of waste management as it remains to be a very critical and necessary step in resolving and minimizing all garbage-related problems in the country.