File photo DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga (Photo Courtesy: DENR)

QUEZON CITY, (PIA) – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has identified three (3) local government units (LGUs) in the National Capital Region (NCR) among the 10 grantees of its 60-million euro project on local circular economy. 

Pasig, Caloocan, and Quezon City governments were identified along with other highly urbanized LGUs such as Baguio City, Davao City, Ormoc City, Island Garden City of Samal, Metro Iloilo, and the islands of Palawan and Siargao. 

Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said LGUs were identified as potential grantees of the project because of their solid waste management initiatives, particularly in the aspect of controlling and reducing the emission of the harmful methane gas from the decomposition of organic wastes in sanitary landfills. 

“As you know, sanitary landfills are among the main ways that this waste are now disposed of and monitoring the quality of the environment around the sanitary landfills is of course always a challenge ‘no, how the management processes are actually abided by in terms of the ecological soundness of the practices,” said Loyzaga during a press briefing in Malacañang. 

“We are still in need of some institutionalization in terms of the way our solid wastes are handled locally and consequently our national capacity,” she added, emphasizing logistics and delegation of personnel who will be responsible for the proper collection and processing of wastes in existing materials recovery facilities (MRFs) as one of the main issues that need to be addressed. 

The provision of the grant was made possible by the partnership between the DENR and the European Union (EU) who recently signed a joint declaration for the institutionalization of the Green Economy Program in the Philippines (GEPP). 

The complete details of the local economy project still await the approval of the National Economic Development Authority-Investment Coordinating Committee (NEDA-ICC) prior to its rollout. 

In the meantime, the DENR is already in the process of completing the documentary requirements for the assessment of the NEDA Board by November 2023. 

The green economy initiatives of the department, however, will continue in line with the existing regulatory policies especially on the proper disposal of plastic packaging that are produced by large enterprises. 

The DENR is keen on obliging the producers to abide by their  plastic waste responsibility knowing that the country generates about 61,000 metric tons of solid waste on a daily basis. Of which, 24% is composed of plastic waste. 

The Filipino population are also found to consume and utilize more than 160 million plastic sachets and over 40 million shopping bags daily which anchors an intesified government response to ensure that the country’s marine and coastal environment will remain protected. (PCO/PIA-NCR)