Why is it necessary for Silliman University to adopt the Zero Waste policies and reduce its residual waste to 10 percent–in addition to other sustainable practices?
Dr. Jorge Augustin Emmanuel, visiting scientist and professor behind the drafting of the policies, pointed out the following:
Dumaguete produced 24,900 tons of waste in 2017 and dumped half of it in Candau-ay dumpsite–including the university’s 415 truckloads of unsegregated waste
The waste at Candau-ay towers 12 meters and the odor from rotten garbage drifts into four barangays around it.
When it rains the black liquid from the dumpsite seeps into the groundwater or flows into the nearby Banica River, carrying toxic chemicals and disease- causing germs.
A huge bulk of the garbage is plastic. Plastic waste releases toxic substances that cause cancer or affect the central nervous system.
Plastics break up into microplastics that attract many contaminants that cause tumors and birth defects.
Zero Waste is a feasible solution already being adopted worldwide in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York in the U.S.; Bandung, Indonesia, Buenos Aires, Argentina, etc.
In the Philippines, Zero Waste cities are San Fernando, Pampanga; Navotas, Malabon and Fort Bonifacio in Metro Manila; and cities in Cavite and Batangas.
In Dumaguete, barangays Looc, Bantayan and Piapi have begun the process of turning themselves into Zero Waste communities, through assessments, consultations, education, enforcement and monitoring, according to the model of the Mother Earth Foundation.
“Zero Waste requires waste prevention, segregation at source, separate collection, maximum reuse and recycling, composting, and reduction of residual waste by enforcing City Ordinance 231 regulating plastic bags and Styrofoam. These may be supplemented by bans on plastic straws and packaging,” Emmanuel wrote.
These and other measures in the draft SU Zero Waste policies are expected to be ratified by Silliman’s mid-level officials before being forwarded for approval by the Board of Trustees this weekend. (Celia E. Acedo/SU Research & Environmental News)
