ILOILO City – Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) litters such as single-use facemasks are everywhere. People haphazardly dispose of them, unmindful of what these would cost the environment and the community.
The Capiz Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (CaPENRO) is not letting these medical wastes reach the seas. Disposable facemasks could be releasing dangerous chemical pollutants when submerged in water, according to research.
CaPENRO conceived a campaign dubbed “mask-in-a-bottle” to address such concern.
Wilmon Alinsangan, CaPENRO’s community development assistant, said the campaign encourages the public to properly dispose of their masks by putting them inside plastic bottles.
“Since nag-start ang pandemic, nangin problem sang mga hospitals ang medical waste. Even kami it has been noticed nga tapos wear sang facemask ginahaboy lang sia bisan diin lang,” Alinsangan said.
The campaign, an initiative of CaPENRO’s Solid Waste Management Section, promotes proper waste segregation of hazardous waste from other residual wastes.
It’s also “hitting two birds with one stone”: the facemasks are being disposed of properly while the plastic bottles are reused.
“This way we can prevent the spread of the virus. Ang mga masks gakalat bisan diin lang, sa kilid dalan, sa household. We don’t know gani kon ang nag-use has been infected with COVID-19 or not,” Alinsangan stressed, adding that, among others, garbage collectors and street sweepers are also put at risk.
To separate from other wastes, Alinsangan said they provided big yellow trash bins.
CaPENRO collaborated with Senator Gerardo M. Roxas Memorial District Hospital in Dao town.
“Sila ang first sa Capiz nga may ara thermal decomposition machine,” said Alinsangan, also the Information, Communication and Education section head of CaPENRO.
Through the high temperature, the masks and bottles are razed into ashes without an adverse effect on the environment.
The mask-in-bottle campaign started in January this year – supported by Capiz’s Gov. Esteban Contreras.
He issued Executive Order No. 001, Series of 2021, requiring all offices of the Capiz provincial government to practice the mask-in-a-bottle in response to COVID-19 waste management.
The campaign objectives are as follows:
* minimize the improper disposal of used facemasks by requiring all offices of the Capiz provincial government to practice “mask-in-a-bottle”, where their used facemasks will be stored and collected;
* impart expertise and awareness on waste reduction, recycling and segregation to the employees of the provincial government; and
* strengthen the involvement of government workers in the implementation of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
Every employee is mandated to have clean and dry bottles (in any size) to be used as storage of the used facemasks.
Each bottle would be sanitized prior to collection. These will then be delivered to the Senator Gerardo M. Roxas Memorial District Hospital and disposed of through its thermal processing machine.
The campaign started at the capitol and eventually rippled through Capiznon households.
“We went out to different offices, gin-campaign among the employees kon paano gina-conduct ang mask-in-a-bottle,” said Alinsangan.
Through partnership building and social media campaigns, the initiative is also being adopted by the Capiz Provincial Police Office under the TSIP Makakalikasan Agreement.
The Capiz Eco-Youth, the provincial youth arm for the environment, requires members to practice the mask-in-a-bottle initiative. They are also helping the provincial government raise public awareness regarding the initiative.
As of September, CaPENRO collected 20,606 bottles of different sizes filled with used masks, which weighed 6,500 kilograms.
Alinsanga said although it took residents the time to adopt the campaign, CaPENRO is grateful that they found it effective.
On the other hand, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)-6 said this effort of CaPENRO is in accordance with the guidelines of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in handling pandemic wastes.
Atty. Ramar Niel Pascua, EMB-6 director, cited that per National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) Resolution No. 1364 (Adopting The Interim Guidelines On The Management Of COVID-19 Related Health Care Waste), all COVID-19 related wastes (including but not limited to used facemasks, cottons, tissue papers, testing kits, etc.), shall be considered as infectious and contaminated healthcare wastes.
It also provides that all infectious and contaminated health wastes shall be properly treated with best available technologies which include thermal treatment as approved by the DENR, DOH, and other regulatory agencies.
Further, Memorandum Circular No. 2020-147, or guidelines on the management of COVID-19 related healthcare Wastes issued by DILG provides that cities/municipalities ensure that such wastes are properly treated with available technologies approved by the DENR, DOH and other concerned regulatory agencies.
However, Pascua noted that the use of mentioned technology requires other environmental permits and clearances such as Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) based on annual treatment/processing capacity to address measures and environmental management in the implementation of such project and activity.
Registration as a Hazardous Wastes Treatment Storage and Disposal (TSD) Facility and a Permit to Operate (PTO) for Air Pollution Source Installations are needed, said Pascua.
“In this regard, the Office is always ready to provide all the necessary guidance and technical assistance as needed in order to assist the local government for the successful implementation of their program,” Pascua said.
DENR Memorandum Circular No. 2002-005, or “Clarification on the Incineration Ban in the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 (R.A. 8749)” states that any thermal treatment technology that meets the emission standard for stationary sources and complies with the other relevant provisions of the Act and other related issuances is allowed to operate in the country.
He explained that the memorandum only allows the incineration of toxic and hazardous waste as well as medical and bio-medical waste (healthcare wastes) and does not include the incineration of municipal solid wastes.
However, DAO 2019-21, or “Guidelines Governing Waste-to-Energy (WtE) Facilities for the Integrated Management of Municipal Wastes”, specifies that the use of thermal process (whether burn or non-burn) technology that may convert municipal waste materials into useable heat, electricity, or fuel is allowed.
This includes wastes produced from activities within local government units which include a combination of domestic wastes from residential, commercial, and industrial wastes and street litters.
“The (DENR) encourages the application of Total Solid Waste Management Solutions such as waste avoidance and volume reduction, recycling, upcycling, re-use, resource recovery including composting in the management of our municipal solid wastes,” Pascua stressed.
He added that sanitary landfills and thermal processes are “end of pipe” alternatives with significant impacts on the environment.
Mask-in-a-bottle is just one of the laudable programs of the four-year-old CaPENRO.
Capiz is the last in the region to create an environmental office in 2017, that’s why they are taking time to create useful programs for the environment.
It is also one of the provinces in the Philippines with an approved 10-year Solid Waste Management plan.
Another equally significant program of the provincial environment office is the One Million Tree Project.
“We cannot do this alone, that’s why we focus on people’s participation. We try to be resourceful. We have a partnership with the people, organizations and other stakeholders. For us, there is much to be done,” said Alinsangan./PN
