Zero Waste Islands – Siquijor Project

Winner GTI Awards 2021 – Waste

General information:

Island (Region, Province, Country):
Province of Siquijor – The Philippines

Population:
up to 200.000 inhabitants

Budget / cost of the project:
€ 85,300

Project partners:
For Love of Mother Earth, Inc. aka Mother Earth Foundation

Partner type of involvement:

Mother Earth Foundation (MEF) is the Implementing partner of the Province of Siquijor on its Zero Waste Program.
MEF also provides technical support and consultancy on their waste management plans and activities

Other partners:
–

Project objectives:

1) To strengthen existing and establish Model Zero Waste Municipalities and Communities
2) To reduce the leakage of plastics into the ocean, and;
3) To address the promotion of waste incinerators and other false end-of-pipe solutions.

Project description of activities and specific interventions:

The following are the activities and interventions being conducted in the Siquijor Island, co-implemented by the Mother Earth Foundation since March 2019 up to present:

Green Audit: Ocular Visit Community Profiling, Baseline Survey, and Waste Assessment and Brand Audit:WABA) -This activity is conducted to assess the current level of compliance of the concerned Local Government Units to the waste management law and to aid the Project Team in designing an appropriate intervention program for the local communities.

Multi-sectoral Consultation and Training- A comprehensive Ecological Solid Waste Management training to hone the knowledge and skills of both the Municipality and Barangay/Community officials.

Information and Education Campaign (IEC)-An activity to formally explain per household about the segregation system, and to remind them about the provisions of the national waste management law and its prohibited acts.

Technical Consultancy and Troubleshooting- This activity seeks to ensure the sustainability of the ESWM programs.

Technical support for the Establishment of Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs)- design and technical support on the construction of the barangays’ MRF; inclusive of the Eco-Shed for recyclables, composting facility, and temporary storage of the residual and hazardous waste.

Monitoring and Evaluation -To continuously guide and improve the implementation of the communities’ on their Ecological Solid Waste Management program.

Enforcement – regular monitoring of proper waste segregation, waste diversion into new resources (e.g. composting), and regulation of the plastic ordinance all of which to help boost and sustain the effectiveness and efficiency of the Zero Waste Siquijor Island program.

Public outreach, education and awareness efforts and results:

We have conducted regular Information, Education, Campaigns (IECs) that resulted into the following reached and impact:
House to House IEC – 9,705 families covered and empowered on proper waste management, and the prohibition of open burning of wastes
Purok/Per Street IEC- 4,678 families in 42 Barangays/Small Communities reached
Bandillo (Public Announcement using a megaphone) – 14,412 estimated households covered, and participated in by 552 Local Government Officials
Barangay/Community Assembly- Participated in by 76 Barangays
Radio Guesting IEC (every weekend) on the benefits of Zero Waste, and importance of proper waste segregation and reduction – Province wide coverage

Economic value added and how calculated:

The overall economic value of the zero waste program for Siquijor Island has yet to be estimated as it is still in the roll out phase. But the project has invested 85,300 euros over two years. To maximize these budget and resources, and decentralize the waste management operations, the investment was distributed into conduct of waste audits, capacity training for different stakeholders and waste workers, crafting of solid waste management plans, development of waste collection system, technical support for the establishment of their respective MRFs, community-based composting, and development of IEC materials, The said investment was able to save the Province of Siquijor’s budget from unnecessary hauling and disposal of their wastes because the compliance on proper waste segregation at the community-level have improved. It also helped the communities avoid bulk expenses by establishing a data-driven Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

Overall, 77% of the communities in the Island have earned a combined estimate of 52, 031 euros from the recovered recyclables alone.

Ecological and social project outcomes:

Aside from having an increase in environmental awareness among the local leaders and community members, the program has managed to address the illegal dumping of plastics in the waterways and into the ocean and has empowered people not to burn their wastes.
In addition, single-use plastics are regulated in most business establishments, commercial restaurants, small eateries, markets, and even in schools and offices.
On the other hand, based on the WABA results, the decentralized waste segregation program has recovered 40% of the waste generated daily by the residents. These were diverted into composting and recycling at the community level. Hence, the Siquijor Zero Waste program has saved and converted an estimated 1,952 kg of wastes per day into new resources.

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