R.A. 9003 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations require all barangays (or cluster of barangays) in the Philippines to have their own Materials Recovery Facitily. The purpose of having a lot of MRFs is to increase the rate of segregation, recycling, and composting such that only the residual wastes are sent to the landfill. This minimizes the decomposition of biodegradable wastes in the landfill as much as possible because biodegradables are diverted into composters in MRFs instead.

According to a Senate report (Philippine Solid Wastes At a Glance, November 2017), only 13,155 out of 42,000 barangays in the Philippines have or share an MRF. That is a measly 31.3% compliance rate even after 20 years since the effectivity of R.A. 9003.

Do you have an MRF in your barangay, or are you aware of such a facility? What do you think is the reason why the mandated number of MRFs are not yet achieved? What can be done to address this situation? Present your analysis of the case.

QUESTION 2

Do you think that the storage in sanitary landfills is the best way of disposing our solid wastes? Explore this question scientifically, geopolitically, and practically. Do we have better options to replace that technology?