Creative Commons license<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAfter the workshops, the team held 14 months of technical consultations and assemblies in the villages themselves. They resulted in a complete waste management plan, including a calendar of activities, investment plans for infrastructure, a budget with funding, and clarity about who was responsible for what. The plans were presented in assemblies for residents to comment on and approve before being implemented as the blueprint for each village\u2019s waste management program. Once the villages had formulated their own waste management programs, they took ownership of the project.<\/p>\n
The project team held separate sessions to consult with a range of stakeholders \u2013 from city workers to junk store representatives to health and tourism officials \u2013 to expand participation in implementing the law. As a result, resorts and inns established composting facilities and improved waste separation, tourists were informed about the strict no-littering and waste separation policies, hospitals and clinics started to separate their waste, and schools and universities improved their recycling and composting practices.<\/p>\n
Toward Zero Waste: Results<\/h3>\n The project grew by leaps and bounds over two years. While in 2009 almost no villages had begun implementation of the law, in 2011, 25 had local ordinances on waste management that specifically banned open burning and dumping and mandated household waste separation and composting. Ten villages passed every facet of the final evaluation with flying colors, while nine of those that did not pass were at least halfway to achieving their waste management goals.<\/p>\n
A follow-up survey showed a high percentage of residents were separating out their waste (88% of those surveyed) and composting (53%). Fifteen villages are now consistently implementing pure composting. Worm composting has also increased, and the city has provided villages and schools with worms and organic fertilizer. Seventeen villages have started comprehensive collection systems. Thirty-two villages have built eco-sheds which provide temporary storage for residual, hazardous, and small amounts of recyclable waste, which are then collected by the city and brought to the city recycling facility.<\/p>\n
Open dumping and burning decreased significantly: In 2009, almost every field had a pile burning; by 2011 there were almost none.<\/p>\n
The survey also showed city government fully committed to the zero waste vision. The city has begun providing employees who were highly respected by village leaders to serve full-time as members of the project. In 2010, the city council passed into law the first zero waste city ordinance in the country, a local version of the national waste management law that includes a stronger provision against incineration and specifies how Alaminos will implement collection and conduct public education, among other things. This historic legislation upholds garbage separation, sets a target for waste diversion, and prohibits incineration.<\/p>\n
Recently, Alaminos announced a “No-segregation, no-collection” policy. Residents will receive a warning if their waste is not separated. After a couple of warnings, their garbage will no longer be picked up. The city has already seen a noticeable reduction in the volume of overall waste. The city has considered – but not yet passed – a ban on plastic bags.<\/p>\n
Much more needs to done to implement waste management programs in the villages \u2013 two years is not long enough to reverse decades of old habits. Still, the dramatic changes underway show what is possible when communities and local government unite their commitment and their energies.<\/p>\n
Check out GAIA\u2019s website here<\/a> and download the full Zero Waste report here<\/a>. Follow GAIA on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a><\/p>\nRead more from Other Worlds here<\/a>, and follow us on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\nCopyleft GAIA. You may reprint this article in whole or in part. Please credit any text or original research you use to Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, On the Road to Zero Waste: Successes and Lessons from Around the World.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The city of Alaminos is pioneering zero waste in the Philippines with an energetic fusion of bottom-up planning and community participation. The outcome has been stunning: whereas in 2009 almost every city dumping field had a pile burning, there were almost none two years later. With sky-high waste separation and composting rates, Alaminos has become a trend-setter for other Filipino cities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":15159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13],"tags":[1817,297,1349,254,6189,3073,48,6190,2782,5387],"yoast_head":"\n
How the Philippines are Working Towards Zero Waste<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n