THE INUNDATION of some streets in Iloilo City last week due to heavy rains has again reminded us of our chronic battle with reckless waste disposal.
The remorseless dumping of garbage in the streets and waterways aggravate floods. Rainwater will not drain fast enough to the Iloilo River if the storm drains are clogged with trash. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to grasp the need to keep the waterways free of rubbish and debris to allow the water to freely flow and minimize flooding, but many have yet to realize what we recklessly throw on the ground or estero will come back to haunt and harm us.
Waste and sanitation workers often have to use excavating equipment to remove trash from our clogged waterways. Discarded plastic bags, packaging items, diapers, clothes, tsinelas and other waste materials hinder the efficient operation of the drainage system.
To help in averting floods, the public must break the filthy habit of throwing garbage in the streets and waterways, and to embrace the 5Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle, rethink and respect) instead. Households, most especially, must segregate their discards at source to facilitate the reusing, recycling and composting of waste materials in line with Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
Local authorities down to the barangay must actively implement RA 9003 within their areas of jurisdiction and to use the full force of the law to ensure compliance. The honest-to-goodness enforcement of this law will reduce the volume and toxicity of garbage, cut hauling costs, control environmental pollution, conserve resources, prevent spillage of plastic litter to the oceans, and create sustainable jobs and livelihoods.
