ENVIRONMENTAL group EcoWaste Coalition called on government agencies to reinforce the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, on Jan. 27, which marks its 25th anniversary.
In a statement posted on its website the following day, the group cited the “growing waste volume and toxicity challenges” that saw the need to reinforce the law. It also noted that the recent landfill tragedy in Barangay Binaliw, Cebu City, “underscored the risks associated with unsafe waste disposal practices and the importance of sustained compliance with ecological solid waste management principles and practices.”“These incidents remind us that the full promise of RA 9003 can only be realized through consistent and effective implementation,” EcoWaste Coalition national coordinator Aileen Lucero emphasized. She added that upholding the law, without compromise, “requires prioritizing prevention-based and community-centered approaches to waste management.”The group emphasized the need for a careful evaluation of waste managing schemes that includes thermal waste-to-energy projects. It added that while excluding waste incineration, solutions should highlight the waste hierarchy as well as RA 9003’s core principles that prioritize waste reduction, reuse, recycling, composting and other ecological approaches.Compliance with the law also means staying “focused on waste reduction and prevention, particularly by addressing plastic pollution and moving away from a disposal- and end-of-life mentality,” EcoWaste Coalition Alternate Representative to the National Solid Waste Management Commission Carmela Santos said.Santos also gave a reason why waste-to-incineration (WtE) was not included as a solution, and debunked the belief that it is “a silver bullet to the waste crisis. It undermines the ecological principles of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, the incineration ban under the Clean Air Act, the Renewable Energy Act and the goals of genuine climate action.”The group’s program manager, Jove Benosa, said that RA 9003 already has a clear road map: “By strengthening zero waste systems at the barangay and local government levels, we can reduce waste at source, minimize environmental risks, and build more resilient and sustainable communities.”During the anniversary date, the Interfacing Development Intervention for Sustainability (IDIS) said it opposes any move to amend RA 9003 to allow WtE incineration technologies. “Recent statements from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) expressing support for revisiting the law represent a dangerous step backward, environmental protection, public health and climate responsibility,” the IDIS said in a statement.The IDIS also called on the DENR, lawmakers and local government units to do the following: “defend the incineration ban under RA 9003 and Clean Air Act, prioritize the full and faithful implementation of ecological solid waste management, publish and enforce the NEAP (non-environmentally acceptable products) list mandated under RA 9003, invest in zero-waste, climate-safe and community-based solutions, and protect the health, livelihoods and rights of communities and waste workers.”
