THE RESUMPTION of classes provides a very good opportunity to renew interest and support for school-oriented ecological solid waste management principles and practices. It’s a good time to strengthen current efforts promoting waste management in the school system.
School principals, the faculty, non-academic personnel, students and parents should work together to cut the volume and toxicity of discards in schools. Our principals can surely tap student governments, faculty clubs and the Parent-Teacher Associations.
Department Order (D.O.) 5, Series of 2014, issued by the Department of Education provides for the “Implementing Guidelines on the Integration of Gulayan sa Paaralan, Solid Waste Management and Tree Planting Under the National Greening Program.”
According to the guidelines, “every school shall practice waste management principles, such as minimization, specifically resource conservation and recovery, segregation at source, reduction, recycling, reuse and composting, in order to promote environmental awareness and action among the students.”
Among the activities to be conducted in schools as per D.O. 5 include:
* prohibition of littering and burning of wastes
* avoidance of single-use disposable products and packaging materials such as plastic bags, straws, spoons, forks and paper cups and plates
* promotion of trash-free baon
* establishment of composting system to process biodegradable wastes
* use of recyclables as seed beds in the nursery or garden
* use of reusable food containers in school canteens
* avoidance of consumables such as bottled water, coffee, sugar and creamer in sachets in events and meetings.
D.O. 5 also calls for the designation of an area within the school as a Materials Recovery Facility – a storage area for discards that can still be repaired and reused; a collection area for different recyclables such as bottles, cans and plastic containers; and a temporary place for keeping residual trash such as non-recyclable and non-compostable discards.
The effective implementation of ecological solid waste management in schools will go a long way in instilling environmental awareness and sensitivity, especially among young learners.
