(Cartoon by Roni Santiago)
astray could have helped in financing solutions to the country’s perpetual
garbage woes.
The EcoWaste Coalition stressed this point as communities inundated by relentless
monsoon rains in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon come to grips with one of
the most visible after effects of the weather disturbance: garbage.
“The plundered funds could have assisted our communities in raising public
awareness and participation in the ecological management of discards that has
proven benefits of reducing the volume of garbage for disposal to the least,”
said Aileen Lucero, Acting National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.
“P10-B could have eased, if not provided enduring solutions, to the waste and
toxic crisis affecting our people and the environment,” she said.
According to the EcoWaste Coalition, the ten billion pesos of wasted taxpayers’
money could have funded, in full or in part, a range of responsive programs and
services addressing the country’s swelling waste estimated at 39,257 tons/day
by the National Solid Waste Management Commission.
The P10-B squandered public funds could have funded:
1. 1,000,000 whole-day training
activities on ecological solid waste management involving 50,000,000 people at
P10,000/50-person activity covering meals, hand-outs, speakers’ honoraria and
other basic incidental expenses.
2. 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 Materials
Recovery Facilities (MRFs) at P5,000 – P10,000/facility for rural barangays,
and 20,000 to 200,000 MRFs at P50,000 – 500,000/facility for urban barangays;
MRFs serve as depositories for segregated discards that can be reused, recycled
or
composted to minimize the volume of trash sent to residual waste landfill.
3. 22,222 biodegradables shredder (7 Hp, 1.5 tons/hour) costing P450,000/machine
to cut up garden or farm waste and other organics into small pieces to speed up
the composting process.
4. 2,857,142 generic sewing machines at P3,500/unit that community women can
use to make reusable bags from fabrics, doy packs, flour and rice sacks and
other materials.
5. 1,538,461 pedicabs at P6,500/unit or 2,857,142 wooden carts at P3,500 /cart
that itinerant waste recyclers can use for “bote-dyaryo” business.
6. 66,666 junk shops that will ideally need a start-up capital of P150,000.
7. 2,000,000 low-interest loans at P5,000/person that will enable waste pickers
to venture into micro-enterprises to augment their incomes.
The P10-B wasted funds could have also alleviated the living and working
conditions of the informal recyclers, which, in addition to access to
low-interest loans, need insurance coverage, skills building opportunities,
educational assistance for their children, protective gears, etc.
Additionally, the EcoWaste Coalition pointed out that with P10-B, the government
could have realized the many salient requirements of Republic Act 9003, the
Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, including assisting local governments in
shutting down, cleaning up and rehabilitating open and controlled dumpsites
that have persisted to exist beyond their mandatory closure in February 2006.
On Monday, August 26, a contingent from member groups of the EcoWaste Coalition
will join the “Million People March” to demonstrate their anger and indignation
over the gross misuse of pork barrel funds by certain officials and their
cohorts, including some phony non-government organizations.
-end-
Notes for the Media:
1. The 10,000/whole-day training activity on ecological solid waste management
with 50 participants per activity is based on the estimates provided by the
Mother Earth Foundation and the Zero Waste Philippines.
2. The costs for constructing MRFS came from Mother Earth Foundation, Zero
Waste Philippines and the National Solid Waste Management Commission
5. An RU Biodegradables Shredder (7 Hp, 1.5 tons/hour) costs P450,000/unit;
info from RU Foundry and Machine Corp., # 6 Spring Drive, Congressional Village
1, Congressional Ave. Proj. 8 Q.C, Phone: 929-6550; http://www.rushredder.com/composting.html
6. Cost of a pedicab: P6,500;
http://www.pinoybisnes.com/business-ideas/how-to-start-a-pedicab-padyak-operation-business/
7. Cost of a kariton: estimated cost
8. Cost of start-up capital for a small junk shop business: P150,000;
http://www.junkshopbusiness.com/?Codx=24044
9. Cost of one manual sewing machine: a. generic sewing machine, P3,500 and
basic Singer sewing machine, P5,000 from Monteverde Sewing Machine, 1870 Abad
Santos St., Sta. Cruz, Manila; Phone: 362 0712;
http://www.singerphilippines.com/feat_15ch179.php
10. Waste volume of 39,257 tons/day:
http://121.58.235.163/nswmc2/Public/WasGen.aspx