App. Envi. Res.

43(2) (2021): 30-45

Applied Environmental Research

Journal homepage : http://www.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/aer

A Study of Policy Implementation and Community Participation

in the Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Philippines

Mary Ellen C. Camarillo1,2,*, Luzvisminda M. Bellotindos1,3

1
Engineering Graduate Program, School of Engineering, University of San Carlos,
Talamban, Cebu City 6000, Philippines
2
Industrial Engineering Department, College of Technology and Engineering,
Cebu Technological University, Argao, Cebu 6021, Philippines
3
Center for Research in Energy Systems and Technologies, School of Engineering,
University of San Carlos, Talamban, Cebu City 6000, Philippines
*
Corresponding author: maryellencamarillo@gmail.com

Article History
Submitted: 27 May 2020/ Revision received: 9 October 2020/ Accepted: 18 November 2020/ Published online: 26 March 2021

Abstract
Municipal solid waste (MSW) management has become one of the most pressing environmental
concerns of the Philippines at present. Several measures have been implemented to circumvent
this issue, including waste management policies stipulated in the Ecological Solid Waste
Management Act of 2001. However, the implementation of these policies even at the barangay
level has always been a challenge. Hence, this study assessed the compliance of selected
barangays in Cebu City, Philippines, specifically to the integrated solid waste management plan
based on the 3R’s (reduce, reuse, and recycle). A descriptive quantitative method was utilized in
this study. There were 1523 residents and 30 Barangay Environment Officials identified as
respondents based on Slovin’s sampling method at a 95% confidence level. The results revealed
that there is less extent of compliance in almost all of the SWM policies such as segregation,
composting, recycling, incentives, and public information. There is a moderate extent of com-
pliance in terms of collection and transport of solid waste and enforcement of penalties and fines.
However, there is non-compliance in terms of facilities for final disposal. Furthermore, the results
suggested that effective measures for recycling and composting should be undertaken to
encourage higher participation among residents of the barangay. The presence of effective,
functional, and marketable materials resource facilities and convenient drop-off locations for
recyclable materials ensure final sorting according to its type for composting and recycling.
Keywords: Solid waste management; Policy implementation; Municipal waste; Household
waste; Compliance

https://doi.org/10.35762/AER.2021.43.2.3
App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45 31

Introduction tegies are still a challenge in many developing

The most pressing concern among urban countries [9], including the Philippines.
areas in the Asian countries is the tangible Suitable benchmark metrics help a community
environmental issues on air and water pollution to measure its success in the provision of solid
such as illegal dumping, uncontrolled dumpsites, waste management facilities, to provide decision-
unsegregated wastes, and clogged waterways. making input on goals for inadequate funds
These issues stem from poor solid waste available for infrastructure enhancements, and
management practices which have become a to track changes over time. The Integrated Solid
consequence of fast economic growth, industriali- Waste Management (ISWM) agenda differentiates
zation, and rising population with increasing three scopes for investigation of solid waste
income and better lifestyle [1]. In 2016, about management: the physical classification and its
1,200 million tons of municipal solid wastes or technological mechanisms, sustainability features
MSW’s (e.g. plastics, papers, glass, metal, and (social, institutional, political, financial, eco-
food) were generated in Asia and the Pacific nomic, environmental, and technical), and the
and this is expected to further increase in the various clusters of stakeholders involved. The
following years. It is projected that the generation physical aspects such as safety of public health
of these waste materials will continue to surge which is dependent on a sound waste collection
until its universal peak as far as 2100 [2–3]. facility; environmental defense specifically during
MSW’s are identified to be coming from the waste treatment and disposal; and resource value,
household, commercial, industrial (due to con- the ‘3Rs’ – reduce, reuse, recycle. Secondly, are
struction and demolition), agricultural, institu- the governance aspects. It conveys an effective
tional, and a combination of any of the waste system, with the stakeholders indirectly included
sources. In most cases, household and commercial allowing them to assist and gain, both as users
wastes cannot be distinguished and are categorized and providers of service. This also dealt with the
together as urban wastes [4]. assessment of sound and proactive policies. The
This global issue will persist unless relevant financial sustainability, the third aspect, ensures
and forceful sustainability measures are being that solid waste management facilities and ac-
implemented [2]. These measures can involve tions are practical and reasonable. Unfortunately,
strict implementation and enforcement of solid actual data on costs, specifically on expenses
waste management (SWM) policies on a com- per tons of waste managed by the organization,
munity level, which requires the active involve- were usually either non-existent or uncertain [10].
ment of community and waste management With the existing metrics being discussed in the
stakeholders to ensure successful results [5–6]. literature, this study finds these indicators relevant
At present, SWM policies have become a vital to be evaluated as to implementation and com-
component for institutions and governments pliance, to serve as a guide for the policymakers
that should be able to put all of these elements on the enhancement of the existing policies and
in place – segregation, collection, transport, guidelines. Further, the need to evaluate additional
materials recovery, treatment, and disposal [7]. metrics such that of penalties and rewards, will
For many developing countries, the 3R’s (reduce, serve as check-and-balance metrics for an effi-
reuse, recycle) strategy is the ultimate choice, cient and effective SWM.
amongst many, as far as SWM policies are con- The urban areas in the Philippines, for
cerned with the aim of minimizing the volume example, Metro Manila, have always serious
of MSW’s [8]. Unfortunately, the enforcement issues regarding the management of MSW’s
and implementation of SWM policies and stra- because of the high population density and
32 App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45

consumption rates, as well as the concentration recognition of stakeholders is very important in

of packaged goods, some of which are made managing their participation and engagement in
with raw materials that are toxic and non- various waste management activities [15–16].
biodegradable [11]. In 2016, urban areas in the The current waste management scheme equally
country generate over 40,000 t d-1 of solid waste outlines the roles of the city or municipal govern-
with an average per capita of waste generated at ment and the barangays in instigating waste
0.40 kg d-1 [12]. These wastes are produced diversion as shown in Figure 1.
from households (73%), commercial institutions, RA 9003 aims of creating an integrated SWM
and industries (26%), and healthcare facilities system; hence it mandates the provision of mate-
(1%) [11]. To enforce MSW management, RA rial recovery facilities (MRFs) in all barangays
9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act) that are in line with the reduction, reuse, recycle
was enacted in 2000, which authorized local scheme. Moreover, LGUs adopt sanitary land-
government units (LGU’s) to institutionalize me- fills instead of illegal burning or open dumping.
thodological, all-inclusive, and environmentally However, landfills have been reaching their
sound MSW management plans [13]. The RA maximum capacity and so necessary measures
9003 of the republic facilitates the idea that are proposed. As an example, Cebu City which
waste is a resource that can be retrieved. The act is one of the highly urbanized centers in the
offers the most favored choices for solid waste central Philippines set a landfill waste reduction of
management with source reduction and minimi- 50% for the year 2015 [11]. Some notable
zation of waste generated at source and resource efforts of reducing landfill disposal are the
recovery, recycling, and reuse of waste [14]. establishment of the city’s composting schemes,
This act supports a paradigm that waste can be extending from backyard, community-based, and
recycled as a resource. The most common business-led composting initiatives. These arrange-
options for solid waste management in RA 9003 ments are usually on small scale (less than 1 t d-1)
are the reduction and minimization of waste and depend on segregated waste from the local
generated at source and resource recovery, community. Moreover, City Ordinance No. 2013
recycle and reuse of waste. In the first three (Mandating garbage segregation at source.
years of the act, the statutory mandated quotas Categorization of waste. Establishment of fines)
for solid waste disposal were set at 25% waste orders garbage segregation at source according
disposal and raised every three years afterward. to four waste classifications: 1) biodegradable
It further directs the conception of the Solid or compostable wastes, 2) non-biodegradable
Waste Management Board (SWMB) beginning wastes, 3) reusable or recyclables wastes and 4)
from the national, provincial, city/ municipal, bulky wastes, with penalties for violations.
down to the barangay level. The barangay, Following the adoption, in April 2011 of the
similar to a village, is the lowest political and resolution 'No Segregation, No Collection
administrative level in the Philippines. The Scheme' and City Ordinance No. 2343, better
institutional mechanism of the law is the known as the 'No Plastic Saturday Ordinance of
establishment of the National Solid Waste the City of Cebu,' the use of plastic shopping
Management Commission (NSWMC). The law bags as primary packaging for products in
also identifies stakeholders that have an interest commercial establishments is banned for non-
in good waste management, thus having signi- compliance every Saturday with appropriate
ficant contribution and participation. This is penalties [18]. However, the MSW manage-
presented in Supplementary Material (SM) 1 ment implementation of LGUs in the Philippines
with their roles as prescribed by the law. The is still very limited even with the thorough
App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45 33

reform introduced in the creation of RA 9003 “responsible units” refers to the local govern-
[11]. The LGU’s primary responsibility is the ment units responsible for implementing ways
implementation and enforcement of the pro- for waste minimization such as recycling and
visions in the law in their area of jurisdictions. composting and almost all of the responsible
Hence, it is then thought that waste segregation units which represent about 99% of the popu-
and collection should be enforced at the barangay lation of a state receive state-funded grants for
level specifically for biodegradable, compostable, a portion of the costs of operating the local
and reusable wastes. It is further expected that the waste minimization programs [22]. Although the
barangay will ensure 100% collection coverage programs conducted by the government are for
of the waste from residential, commercial, in- the common good, this may not be successful
dustrial, and agricultural sources. without the help of the public. A study empha-
The study aimed to assess the current SWM sized the importance of public participation which
practices of the barangay residents as com- unfortunately receives very little attention [23].
munity participants and the level of barangay A plethora of researches has stipulated that
implementation of the SWM policy to determine participation, attitude, and behavior are impor-
compliance and degree of participation as tant elements in the success of solid waste
mandated in the RA 9003 in terms of waste management programs in every society [24].
segregation, collection and transport, recycling The attitude and awareness of people affect
and composting practices and programs, every stage in the solid waste management
incentives and implementation of the penalties process - from household waste storage to waste
and fines as well as public education and segregation, recycling, collection, and waste
information to solid waste management plans disposal [25]. The habit, attitude towards target,
and programs of the barangay. Other solid waste punishment, and rewards are factors affecting
management studies focused on gaps limited human attitude [26]. Attitude can positively be
in the management of wastes [19], however, affected through building awareness campaigns
research works both on policy implementation and projects, and education that informs people
and stakeholder or community participation are about their responsibility as waste contributors
understudied. Management of solid waste is and informs the negative effects of improper
regarded as one of the main issues that have to waste management in the environment and
be dealt with daily to control the rapid increase public health. To prolong and uphold a waste
of wastes generated by people passing through management system, participation of the com-
towns and cities. Thus, the activities involving munity is a prerequisite even by simply storing
waste management are decided upon and carried wastes in a proper way and time and segregating
out by the different stakeholders including the recyclables from other wastes. Thus, the concep-
government and the individuals populating the tualization, formulation and implementation of
city [20]. The government is the one who is waste management must require the under-
mainly responsible for waste minimization and standing and analysis of the beliefs, behavior,
implementing waste management [21]. The term and attitude of community individuals [27].
34 App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45

Figure 1 Level of governance in Philippine solid waste management [17].

The target level for both barangay residents facility, and a recycling facility. MRFs assist to
and implementers are 100% compliance with reduce the volume of wastes to be disposed of
the mandate of the Act whose indicators are primarily through recycling, composting, and
manifested in the SWM components being residual treatment. The waste management act
assessed in this study. These indicators include the outlines collection of waste as the policy of
segregation of wastes, collection, and transport, removing solid waste from the source or a shared
reuse and recycle programs, composting, incen- storage point. The law additionally orders the
tives, public information, and information, use of separate collection vehicles, schedules,
penalties, and fines. The legislation describes and/or separate trucks or haulers for specific
segregation as a solid waste management method types of wastes. The vehicles used for solid
by separating multiple waste stream products to waste processing and transport have sufficient
facilitate resource recovery and reuse and compartments to allow the effective handling
decrease the volume of waste to be collected of segregated waste during transit. LGUs are
and disposed of. The law further directs that mainly accountable for the collection of solid
Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) shall be wastes. Waste segregation and collection are
set in every barangay or cluster of barangays. carried out primarily for biodegradable/ com-
The MRF comprises a solid waste transfer station postable and reusable/recyclable waste at the
or sorting station, a drop-off center, a composting barangay level.
App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45 35

Materials and methods While there is no exact data on actual per capita
1) Research location waste generation in the city, it was estimated
Cebu City is located in the Central Eastern that each of the Cebu City residents generates
part of Cebu Island, bounded in the North by about 500 g d-1of MSW. Cebu City is yet to
Mandaue City and in the South by Talisay City, perfect the implementation of its segregated
and Mactan Channel in the East and munici- garbage collection system. Barangay residents
pality of Balamban and Toledo in the West. continue to mix biodegradable with their non-
Figure 2 shows the location map of the study area. biodegradable wastes. According to city data,
At present, Cebu is the second-largest city MSW collection coverage is 100%. However, in
next to Metro Manila, the country’s capital. some instances, uncollected garbage is left to
Because of its strategic location and ease of pile up on city streets, in the interior of barangays,
access by air and sea transport, industries like and even left floating on water bodies because
tourism and information and communication of the lack of garbage trucks that will bring these
technology, Cebu City has become a notable to the city's transfer station at the landfill. In this
urban city with 50 out of 80 barangays consi- event, the conduct of this study is seen as relevant.
dered urban [28]. The city produces about 500 t Four barangays were selected in the study
of MSW per day or a total of 182, 500 t a-1 [18]. namely Guadalupe, San Nicolas, Talamban, and
Due to the rapid urban and economic growth in Lahug. Barangays Guadalupe and San Nicolas
the city, the daily MSW generation has were dubbed as violators of RA 9003 in the city
increased almost double from 212 t in 1982 to last 2014. These barangays were charged for
500 t in 2010. However, it was estimated that improper waste disposal and the garbage policy
only 315 t d-1 of MSW or 114, 500 t a-1 of MSW such as the “No-segregation, No-collection”
per year ends up being dumped into the sanitary policy is not implemented. On the other hand,
landfill. According to the city officials, the rest Talamban and Lahug are two of the populated
is recycled by the formal and informal sectors. barangays with no record of SWM violations.

Figure 2 Map of the Philippines showing (a) Cebu Province; (b) Cebu City; and
(c) location of four barangays.
36 App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45

2) Methods residents or the waste generators. The question-

The total number of sample population per naires assessed compliance in RA 9003. The
barangay was identified using Slovin’s formula second set of questionnaires evaluated the extent
with a 95% confidence level which resulted as of compliance of the Barangay Environmental
follows: 382 for Guadalupe; 380 for San Nicolas Officers (BEO) to RA 9003. The respondents
and Talamban and 381 for Lahug. The formula were assigned to answer the questions that are
for Slovin’s is shown in Eq. 1 in which n is the answerable by a 4-point scale. Table 1 showed
sample or portion of the population that parti- the scale used with the corresponding quanti-
cipated in this study, N is the total population tative and qualitative values. Weighted mean
under study and e represents the error margin. was used to calculate the gathered data for each
indicator. The weighted mean was used to
N
n = (1+N∙e2 ) (Eq. 1) determine the level of compliance for both sets
of respondents.
The total number of respondents was 1,523.
Thirty (30) Barangay Environmental Officers Results and discussion
(BEO) and staff were also interviewed in this 1) Scenarios of solid waste management
study. These BEOs are tasked with implementing practices
and monitoring government provisions. A des- The activities included in SWM practices in
criptive quantitative method was used in which Cebu City include (1) segregation of waste, (2)
survey questionnaires served as the primary tool collection and transport of solid waste, (3) recy-
of data gathering supplemented with unstruc- cling programs, (4) composting, (5) incentives,
tured interviews. (6) penalties and fines, (7) public education and
Two sets of survey questionnaires were em- information as well as (8) facilities for final dis-
ployed with a retrieval rate of 95% for Guadalupe posal. SM 2 and SM 3 further show the detailed
and Talamban and 99% for San Nicolas and result showing the weighted and composite
Lahug. The first set evaluated the solid waste means of each criterion as evaluated by the
management practices of the selected barangay residents and the barangay health workers.

Table 1 The rating scale used by the respondents

Residents Barangay Environmental Officers
Scale
Description Implication Description Implication
4 All the time If practiced in all cases; Great extent If complied in all cases;
7 d in a week 76–100% complied
3 Most of the If practiced in the Moderate extent If complied in the
time majority of the cases; majority of the cases;
done 4–6 d in a week 51–75% complied
2 On rare If practiced in some of Less extent If complied in some of
occasion the cases; done 1–3 d the cases; 1–50%
in a week complied
1 Not at all If not practiced at all; Not complied If not complied at all;
none at all zero compliance
App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45 37

In SM 2, it is shown that the majority of the these barangays implement strict segregation
variables being assessed are done most of the while Guadalupe and San Nicolas segregate
time. However, looking into the details, there waste on rare occasions because of time
are specific areas that are performed on an occa- constraints in segregating and the unavailability
sional basis. These among others are the unavai- of segregation bins provided in the locality. In
lability of garbage truck covers, the utilization the actual observation done, residents did not
of the MRFs, and the giving out of incentives segregate their waste all the time because of the
for good performing households as far as SWM lack of garbage bins available in their areas.
practice is concerned. The majority of the least There are some garbage bins personally
performed aspects dealt with budget consideration provided by residents but are only limited thus,
and technical know-how. This can be linked to these hinder them from segregating waste
the result of the assessment of the BEOs. SM 3 according to types. Further, cultural and beha-
presented the assessment result of the BEOs as vioral norms are also observed to be a culprit of
far as implementation is concerned at the this scenario.
barangay level. The garbage trucks provided by
the barangays in the initial stage of implemen-
tation are substandard. It does not conform to
the minimum requirements set. Moreover, the
absence of MRFs in the barangays is the core
reason why residents did not utilize it at all. In
some barangays, based on the observation done
in this study, the MRFs are present but it did not
conform to the design specifications of a good
and functional MRFs. It can be well noted in the
result that funding for SWM programs is
insufficient at the barangay level. From the
perspective of the BEO, there are low funds Figure 3 Status of waste segregation
allocated for solid waste management from the implementation by policy implementers in
city government. There is a huge reduction in selected barangays of Cebu City, Philippines
the budget which affects the materials needed in assessed by residents.
solid waste management as well as manpower
whose work is to ensure these tasks. Budget It can be noted that local barangays imple-
allocation at the time the research was con- ment waste segregation with less extent having
ducted was affected by the transition of LGU an average weighted mean of 2.17. Both barangay
officials which the officials call political biases. Guadalupe and San Nicolas did not provide
separate containers for each type of waste in
2) Status of waste segregation every household as mandated in RA 9003.
The results of the implementation of waste Therefore, the segregation of wastes at its initial
segregation in the four barangays of Cebu City, stage of implementation in the barangay level
Philippines are shown in Figure 3. Segregation has not complied. This result coincides with the
of wastes among the barangays is done most of study in which social behaviors between urban
the time with an overall weighted mean of 3.06. areas tend to become a barrier to waste
Among the barangays, Lahug and Talamban segregation at source [19]. This indicates that
practiced segregation of waste all the time because there is a need to include measures of behavioral
38 App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45

changes among citizens as an aspect of MSW time the garbage truck at the particular vicinity
management policies. These among others the to collect garbage is mostly observed.
voluntary participation of the house-holds in the
waste segregation drive even with the absence
(a)
of garbage bins provided by the barangays.

3) Status of collection and transport of waste

The results for the collection and transport of
solid wastes are shown in Figure 4. This aspect
is specified into three indicators: (1) provision
of personal protective equipment or PPE; (2)
on-time collection of waste; and (3) condition of
garbage collection trucks, i.e. provision of covers
and odor control. Generally, the collection and
transport of waste in each of the barangays are
done most of the time and to a moderate extent.
In terms of wearing PPE in handling solid
(b)
wastes and on-time collection of garbage, these
indicators are found to be done most of the time
with a weighted mean of 2.75 and 2.74, res-
pectively. Garbage collectors and other personnel
are provided with personal protective equip-
ment to protect them from hazards of handling
wastes and the necessary training with regards
to proper handling of waste. However, it was
revealed that garbage trucks being used in the
collection do not have covers in some areas,
thus foul odor can be sensed around the com-
munity. Also, the collection efficiency of MSW’s
in some barangays is low because of inconsistency Figure 4 Status of collection and transport of
in the collection system. It has been observed waste in selected barangays of Cebu City,
that the collection is only observed in areas Philippines as assessed by (a) residents and
where there is road access for garbage trucks to (b) barangay environmental officers.
route. Uncollected waste often lies outside the
designated bins in most of the urban areas due 4) Status of 3R programs
to inappropriate design, capacity, location, and Recycling as a waste management practice
poor attitude of the community towards using shows promise as it enables valorization of
bins. It is observed that the uncollected waste is MSW’s that are deemed recyclables and at the
generally burnt in open areas or on the streets. same time provide job opportunities among
Furthermore, results revealed that there is no participating stakeholders [32]. Recycling pro-
separate garbage truck or vehicle used for a grams at home as shown in Figure 5 are
specific type of waste. Nonetheless, most of the practiced by Lahug and Talamban most of the
time though, the observance of a definite schedule time while Guadalupe and San Nicolas only
for garbage collection indicating the day and practiced recycling occasionally.
App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45 39

provided. The presence of MRFs in the ba-

rangay is implemented in some cases only with
an average mean of 2.37. This means that the
MRF is not fully utilized by the residents as it is
intended to be. The MRFs supposedly functions
as a sorting facility. When this waste is sorted,
they can be sold to junkshops for reuse or
recycling while the biodegradables are pro-
cessed into composts.
Generally, the recycling program of Cebu
City as assessed by the barangay officials is
practiced to a less extent with a mean of 2.01.
The result shows that there is no separate
collection system or convenient drop-off loca-
tions for recyclable materials and particularly
for separated toxic components of the waste
stream like dry cell batteries and tires to ensure
that they are not incinerated or disposed of in
the landfill. In the BEO interview, officers do
not accept batteries, broken bulbs, and other
toxic wastes in the collection. The prohibition
on the use of non-environmentally acceptable
packaging is practiced to a less extent. Also,
there is no market opportunity for recycled
products and no encouragement to local makers
to produce goods from post-consumer mate-
rials. Thus, the motivational aspect at the
Figure 5 Status of recycling programs in household level in the recycling advocacy has
selected barangays of Cebu City, Philippines not complied.
as assessed by (a) residents and (b) barangay
environmental officers. 5) Status of composting
In terms of composting, residents of Talamban
Patronizing recycled products and using practice composting at their respective homes
environmentally friendly and reusable shopping all the time which can be seen in Figure 6. On
bags are done most of the time with an overall the contrary, Guadalupe and San Nicolas revealed
weighted mean of 2.54 for the four barangays. that composting is rarely practiced because of
However, barangays Talamban, Guadalupe, and issues on the technical capability of the residents.
San Nicolas rarely sell their recyclable wastes in There is no composting training done at the
the junk shops due to the low exchange value of barangay level, as well as there are inadequate
the wastes being sold and the absence of nearby spaces in the barangays for such waste mini-
junk shops as claimed by the residents. This mization programs to take place. Composting is
further means that the residents of these three a method that is found to apply to the
barangays have not efficiently utilized the biodegradable component of MSW. Barangay
materials resource facilities (MRF’s) that are environmental officers’ promotion of composting
40 App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45

of organic wastes by making compost from

kitchen and garden wastes is practiced to a less
extent. Households in barangays Lahug and
Talamban practiced composting at home to a
moderate extent while barangays Guadalupe
and San Nicolas do not apply to compost their
waste. Based on observation and further inves-
tigation is done, lack of space in their backyards
and no education and training on the compos-
ting techniques and methods are the identified
factors for not complying. These results agree in
which the application of this method is still a
challenge in developing countries due to various Figure 7 Status of public education and
factors, in which the most dominant is odor information in selected barangays of Cebu
generation [17]. Composting should be imple- City, Philippines as assessed by residents and
mented in parallel with waste segregation at the barangay environmental officers.
source.
This means that the government is exerting
efforts to disseminate the goals and objectives
of the environmental campaign. However, it
should also be well noted that the respondents’
responses demonstrated irregularity in this area
since barangay Guadalupe falls under the “on
rare occasion” category. This further entails that
there is still inconsistency in the implementation
of this awareness program and can be concluded
that education and training seminars may not be
disseminated fairly well to the residents.
A previous study highlights that the Cebu
City Government, especially the Office of the
Figure 6 Status of composting in selected Environmental Committee has recognized that
barangays of Cebu City, Philippines as the implementation of the SWM program depends
assessed by residents and barangay on the level of environmental awareness among
environmental officers. its community to ensure their active participa-
tion [8]. A system was established by recruiting
6) Status of public education and information at least five volunteers from each barangay with
Information provided by the respondents as community-leadership elements, known as BEOs,
far as public information and education is to serve as the main initiator of these education
concerned revealed that awareness activities campaigns. For this reason, BEOs have become
about the solid waste management program are an important medium through which the Cebu
conducted. Among the seven SWM practices, City government can communicate its policies
public information and education are highly to citizens at the barangay level.
implemented with an average weighted mean of
3.11 which can be seen in Figure 7.
App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45 41

7) Status of final disposal and supporting the development of a special

The implementation of SWM practice in fund for incentives are partially preserved. The
terms of facilities for final disposal among results of which are presented in Figure 9.
select barangays has not complied at all with an
average weighted mean of 1.67. Figure 8 shows (a)
the result.
During the interview, the barangay official
said that the local government unit of Cebu City
has not converted the open dumps into controlled
dumps as to prohibit the use of open dumps for
solid wastes. Controlled dumpsites do not have
adequate soil cover for sanitary landfill of non-
biodegradable and non-recyclable wastes. This
shows that dumpsite operators are not able to
provide adequate supervision of sufficient qua-
lified personnel to ensure proper operation of
(b)
the site in compliance with all applicable laws,
regulations, permit conditions, and other re-
quirements. Insufficient funds allocated for the
modernization of facilities are one of the main
reasons for non-compliance in the barangay
level as revealed by the respondents.

Figure 9 Status of incentives, penalties, and

fines in selected barangays of Cebu City,
Philippines as assessed by (a) residents and
(b) barangay environmental officers.

The implementation of incentives as a waste

management practice in barangays is found to
Figure 8 Status of final disposal in selected be on rare occasions with an average weighted
barangays of Cebu City, Philippines as mean of 2.31. Incentive scheme for individuals
assessed by barangay environmental officers. or group who enthusiastically participates in the
solid waste management activities of the
8) Status of incentives, penalties, and fines barangay is less implemented since most of the
At the barangay level, the recycling initia- respondents rated it as not at all implemented in
tives implemented by the city government the barangay level. This is one of the substantial
primarily aimed at encouraging solid waste reasons why the implementation of RA 9003 is
segregation at its source with fines for violations insufficiently administered. With no incentive
42 App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45

given in place for those active individuals, de- petence in solid waste management for certain
dication and drive will die down. The necessity authorities causes overlapping of responsibilities,
of paying more attention to intrinsic and thus, accountability among the various autho-
extrinsic factors is important. This has become rities regarding solid waste management is
an important attribute to warrant sustainable difficult. In Indonesia, there are still constraints
waste management [30]. in the success of its policy because public
Generally, incentive schemes are practiced awareness and community participation are still
to a less extent among the selected barangays. lacking and public knowledge about waste
For best implementers of RA 9003, these are management is very limited [35]. Thailand’s
practiced to a moderate extent while some technical issues on waste management are con-
barangays did not give rewards or incentives to sidered to be the top contributing factor for its
those individuals or groups who have undertaken unavailing policy implementation. Such technical
outstanding techniques, projects, or technologies issues include having no sufficient number of
related to re-use, recycling, and reduction of solid garbage trucks and the ineffective and ineffi-
waste. However, the imposition of penalties and cient waste collection system on frequency and
fines to violating individuals are practiced to routes and the lack of establishment of a
a moderate extent. It can be concluded based recycling and composting facility [36].
on the findings that the Cebu Environmental
Sanitation and Enforcement Team (CESET) Conclusions
have exerted efforts in the enforcement of this Municipal solid waste (MSW) management
policy. has become one of the most pressing environ-
mental concerns of the Philippines at present.
9) Other developing countries issues of The research gap of analyzing the relations of
ineffective waste management policy non-compliance for both policy implementers
Similar to the Philippines, some developing and the community are looked into. The result
countries in Asia had its bout of challenges as of the study provides general direction for the
far as waste policy implementation is concerned. further development of the county’s solid waste
In China, many citizens cannot effectively and management system in the future by analyzing
correctly separate different kinds of solid wastes. the underlying reasons for ineffective solid
The participation of citizens in source separa- waste management policies.
tion needs to be improved in some regions and The findings of this study showed that
the absence of a waste composting facility is despite the city’s efforts to implement effective
identified. Further, poor data management and compliance with the provisions of RA 9003, the
ineffective methods towards informal waste selected barangays have not fully implemented
management activities cause formally imple- the law. Sufficient fund allocation is crucial to
mented waste management measures to be the full compliance of the RA. Facilities for
ineffective [33]. Meanwhile, Malaysia has iden- final disposal is considered necessary since
tified that poor governance in the ground, lack implementers have not controlled the dumpsites
of commitment among stakeholders, poor that include the adequacy of soil cover or
monitoring and policy enforcement as well as sanitary landfill for non-biodegradable. The
the neglect of social dimension’s participation prohibition of using open dumps for solid waste
in the policymaking and feedbacking are the is not followed due to the lack of barangay
primary causes of the low success rate of its environment officials.
waste policy [34]. Vietnam’s no clear-cut com-
App. Envi. Res. 43(2) (2021): 30-45 43

Thus, effective measures for recycling and sidered to take into account fundamental reasons
composting should be undertaken to encourage for non-compliance and arrive at a viable
higher participation among residents of the solution to achieve the utmost cooperation as far
barangay. The presence of effective, functional, as solid waste management practices at the
and marketable MRF and convenient drop off household level are concerned. This could be
locations for recyclable materials will ensure done by a stakeholder and policymaker forum
final sorting according to its type for com- and discussion where each party can share
posting and recycling. Door - to - door waste sentiments and suggestions on how to come up
collection service as per the law is also highly with a sound solid waste management plan.
recommended. Incentives, penalties, and fines
should be implemented and given so that Acknowledgment
residents will be motivated to reduce their waste The authors of this study would like to thank
and recycle more. Cebu Technological University and my
The requirements of the legislation would colleagues Dr. June Rey Villegas, Dr. Melanie
necessitate environmentally sustainable approaches Albarracin, and Ms. Mariel Remo, University
to improve resource use and facilitate the con- of San Carlos and Department of Budget
servation and recovery of resources; established Management. To the local government unit of
strategies and targets for the avoidance and Cebu City especially residents and officials of
volume reduction of solid waste by steps to barangays Guadalupe, San Nicolas, Lahug, and
minimize source and waste minimization; gua- Talamban for the support and cooperation in the
rantee proper segregation, collection, transport, completion of this study.
storage, treatment and disposal of solid waste.
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