By Awyetu Asabe Hope
Days of heavy southwest monsoon rains have left garbage piling up and floating in parts of Parañaque City, Philippines, renewing concerns over the country’s persistent waste management crisis.
Environmental justice group BAN Toxics criticised recent statements from Malacañang that appeared to blame ordinary Filipinos for poor waste management, warning that such remarks could shift responsibility away from government.
“We recognise that proper waste management requires the participation of every citizen. However, individual accountability cannot be used as an excuse for the government’s failure to fulfill its responsibilities,” said Thony Dizon, Advocacy and Campaign Officer of BAN Toxics.
Dizon urged the government and local government units (LGUs) to strengthen public education and provide adequate waste management facilities, stressing that effective waste management requires both public participation and functioning systems.
BAN Toxics called for a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (RA 9003), alongside stronger enforcement.
The law requires LGUs to plan, implement and finance local solid waste management programmes covering waste reduction, recovery, recycling and diversion. It also mandates the establishment of a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in every barangay or cluster of barangays.
However, data from the Compendium of Philippine Environment Statistics showed that the country had only 20,458 MRFs in 2025, compared with more than 42,000 barangays nationwide.
The group also urged LGUs to comply with their 10-year Solid Waste Management Plans and meet their waste diversion obligations. Under RA 9003, LGUs are required to divert at least 25 per cent of solid waste from disposal facilities through reuse, recycling, composting and other resource recovery measures.
BAN Toxics said informal waste workers, including waste pickers, collectors and junk shop operators, play a critical role in recycling and recovery and should be formally integrated into local waste management systems.
The group called for social and health benefits, training, proper equipment, facilities and safe working conditions for informal waste workers.
“RA 9003 is crucial but poorly implemented, and its shortcomings are evident, particularly during floods,” Dizon said, warning that improper waste management and plastic pollution could cause toxic contamination and long-term environmental and health risks.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Philippines generated an estimated 60.76 million tonnes of waste in 2025, while 2024 data put daily solid waste generation at about 61,000 metric tonnes. Plastic accounted for up to 24 per cent of the waste, largely from consumer packaging, cutlery and shopping bags.
BAN Toxics also called for reduced reliance on single-use plastics and stronger efforts by the national government and LGUs to promote affordable and environmentally sound alternatives.
The group noted that only about 30 per cent of LGUs had policies regulating single-use plastics as of 2019, leaving most local governments without measures to tackle plastic pollution at source.
Dizon further called for transparency in the allocation and implementation of flood-control funds, saying allegations of corruption or misuse should be investigated and those responsible held accountable.
BAN Toxics also rejected waste-to-energy (WTE) technology as a solution to the country’s waste crisis, arguing that waste incineration could contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and release hazardous pollutants.
Instead, the group advocated zero-waste approaches focused on reducing waste generation and eliminating plastics at source.
