The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (RA 9003) defines solid waste management as “the discipline associated with the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing, and disposal of solid wastes.” The same policy mandates the establishment of solid waste management (SWM) plans and sets the guidelines for solid waste-related activities such as collection, transport, and disposal.
On the other hand, regulatory measures on hazardous wastes or substances which pose threats to human and/or environmental health as well as the risk of disasters like fires or explosions, are covered under the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990 (RA 6969).
Pursuant to the aforementioned laws, we hereby present answers to your questions on:
- Solid Waste Management (SWM) plans
- Requirements for SWM operations namely:
- Waste segregation and storage
- Waste collection
- Waste transport
- Waste treatment and disposal
- Guidelines and criteria for final disposal facilities
- Controlled dump
- Sanitary landfill
- Hazardous waste management
- Definition and classifications of hazardous wastes
- Requirements for waste generator registration and renewal
- Requirements for waste transporter registration
- Requirements for Treatment, Storage, and Disposal (TSD) Facilities registration
- Hazardous waste transport record (Hazardous Waste Manifest System)
- Prescribed Fees for the Different Hazardous Waste Management Activities
Solid Waste Management (SWM) Plan
Solid waste refers to “all discarded household or commercial waste, nonhazardous institutional and industrial waste, street sweepings, construction debris, agriculture waste, and other non-hazardous or non-toxic solid waste.” Clearly, it does not include wastes that are hazardous (for example, dangerous chemicals), infectious (such as clinical waste from hospitals), and contaminated (like soil from mining areas).
As part of the national solid waste management program that aims to ensure the protection of public and environmental health by addressing the solid waste problems in the country, local government units and all other concerned sectors are mandated to establish solid waste management plans to be implemented within their respective jurisdictions.
Solid waste management plans should be consistent with the National Solid Waste Management Framework (Figure 1). RA 9003 further prescribes that an SWM plan must have the following components:
- Profile of the community and area of implementation
- Waste Analysis and Characterization (WACS)
- Collection and transfer
- Processing
- Source reduction
- Recycling and Composting
- Solid waste facility and final disposal
- Education and public information
- Resource requirement and funding
- Incentive programs
Profile of the community and area of implementation
This shall provide information on the present and projected population of the community where the SWM Plan will be implemented. It also includes the estimated solid waste generation and inventory of present or proposed waste management facilities. A map showing the said facilities within the area of implementation is also necessary.
Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (WACS)
Waste characterization is defined as the identification of the materials that comprise solid waste (Section 17, RA 9003). WACS is a benchmark of data-driven decision making as it classifies waste based on material composition (Table 1), by volume or percentage in weight (or volumetric equivalent), and source of generation (Table 2). It further presents waste generation rates (weight or volume per capita in a particular area over a given time). Waste characterization also allows compatibility determination between the generated waste and the existing containment features and other wastes, as well as the segregation of hazardous wastes. It may also include a 10-year waste projection data along with other information crucial in formulating realistic local SWM plans and programs.
Classification of wastes based on material composition
are wastes that will decompose under natural conditions
- Food waste
- Yard waste and trimmings
- Vegetable and fruit residues
- Fish cleaning and processing waste
- Chicken feathers and eggshells
- Agricultural waste
- Wet paper and cartons
is any waste that is free from contamination which can still be converted for other purposes
- Dry paper
- Tin cans
- Metals
- Bottles and glass (including broken ones)
- Rubber
- Textile trimmings
- Plastics
- Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE, #1)
- High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE, #2)
- Vinyl (Polyvinyl Chloride, PVC, #3)
- Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE, #4)
- Polypropylene (PP, #5)
- Polystyrene (PS, #6)
- High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS)
refers to any waste which can no longer be used for other purposes and is, therefore, for transport to a disposal site.
- Ashes and soot
- Dirt
- Tattered textile, paper, and other packaging materials
- Laminates and composite materials
- Sando bags and thin plastic films
- Food and candy wrappers
- Used sanitary napkins, tissue, and disposable diapers
- Broken ceramic and other glazed materials
- Tattered/contaminated styropor
- Household toxic and hazardous wastes
Spent fluorescent bulbs and batteries
Expired drugs and chemicals
Chemical (paint, oil, acid, cement, insecticides, disinfectant, sanitizer, etc) containers - Bulky waste
Furniture, lamps, bookcases, filing cabinets
Demolition and construction debris
Yard waste (tree branches) - White goods
Large worn-out appliances
Consumer electronics
Classification of wastes based on the source of generation
- Main public market
- Satellite public markets
- Talipapa (open markets)
- Restaurants with dine-in facilities
- Carinderias or eateries
- Bakeries
- Food stalls
- Malls or department stores
- Grocery stores
- Other general stores (hardware, sari-sari store, etc)
- Agro-industries (piggeries, poultries)
- Food processing industries
- Cottage industries – non-food (furniture-making, handicrafts, weaving)
- Manufacturing industries
- Agricultural plantations
- Rice, corn, and sugar mills
- City/Municipal halls and Provincial capitols
- Offices
- Churches
- Schools
- Hotels and inns
- Transport terminals
- Funeral homes
- Others (salons, tailor shops, junkshops, repair shops, gasoline stations, pawnshops, printing and copying centers, computer shops, etc)
- Resorts and public beaches
- Parks, cemeteries, and other public places
- Cockpits
- Gyms and sports centers
- Others (movie houses, bars, etc)
- Secondary and tertiary hospitals
- Health centers
- Clinics
- Pharmacies and drug stores
Source: EcoGov Project, 2011
According to the National Solid Waste Management Strategy for 2012-2016, a WACS has three stages:
1. Preparation and training
This stage notably involves planning and selection of a particular WACS methodology that will be adopted and the training of personnel who will do the actual waste characterization among others. Examples of WACS methods to choose from are: seven-day WACS, three-day WACS, and adoption of full or partial WACS typology.
2. Conduct of waste characterization
Primarily includes actual sampling, identification of waste types, and determination of waste volume.
3. Data processing
Data gathered from the conduct of WACS will be processed to serve as bases for SWM strategies and programs.
Collection and Transfer
This section of the SWM plan defines the coverage of the solid waste collection area and the waste transportation schemes to be implemented. It further determines the specific strategies and activities to be undertaken per area in the account of the following:
- Availability of waste receptacles at the source
- Segregation of different solid waste types
- Transport of waste from source or collection points to processing or final disposal sites
- Presence of trained personnel assigned to handle the solid wastes
Processing
A definition of methods and enumeration of facilities and technologies required from the processing of solid wastes are provided in this portion of an SWM Plan.
Source reduction
Central to the rationale of SWM Plans is the encouragement of waste reduction at the source. Accordingly, this part of an SWM Plan describes the strategies and activities to be undertaken in order to significantly reduce solid waste generation. Included in such a description is a list of resources and technologies necessary for its implementation.
Recycling and Composting
The types of materials to be recycled or composted, scheme of categorizing recyclable and compostable solid wastes, methods for developing markets for recycled materials, and facilities needed to execute both composting and recycling are described in these sections.
Solid Waste Facility and Final Disposal
The identification and selection of disposal sites and waste management facilities according to internationally accepted guidelines can be found in this SWM Plan component. Strategies for enhancing disposal efficiency, health, and environmental impact mitigation, and extending facility life and capacity are also important inclusions.
Education and Public Information
This component describes how constituents will be educated and informed of the SWM plan to be implemented. Also subject to transparent dissemination is any information about the human and environmental health-related concerns tackled within the SWM Plan.
Resource requirement and funding
Identification and description of equipment or technological requirements, project costs, and revenue sources can be found in this section.
Incentive Programs
Provision of incentives, which program will be detailed here, is an instrumental part of an SWM Plan as it encourages participation.
If you ever need professional help on solid & hazardous waste management, your friends at GreenDev would love to meet you online at your soonest convenience, or read about your requirements via email and scope out our possible collaboration.
Requirements for Solid Waste Management Operations
Segregation and Storage of Solid Waste
As a minimum requirement, there should be a separate and properly labeled container for each type of waste (Table 2) from all sources.
Collection of Solid Waste
The minimum standards for solid waste collection are:
- Personal Protective Equipment for all personnel directly handling the waste.
- Training for all collectors and personnel, and
- Preventive measures for container damage or scattering of waste within the facility.
Transport of Solid Waste
Required in the transportation of waste are the following:
- Separate collection schedules and haulers, or compartments at least, for each waste type,
- Waste compartment cover
- Vehicles with body number, the name, and telephone number of the agency collecting solid waste.
Further, no waste shall be stored in the transport stations beyond 24 hours. Transport stations should be spacious enough to accommodate temporary storage, loading, and unloading of waste into the vehicles. It should also be close to the collection area and routes to the disposal facility.
Guidelines and criteria for final disposal facilities
Guidelines for Controlled Dumps
- Regular inert cover,
- Surface water and peripheral site drainage control,
- Provision for aerobic and anaerobic decomposition,
- Restriction of waste deposition to small working areas,
- Fence, including provision for litter control,
- Basic record-keeping,
- Provision of a maintained access road,
- Controlled waste picking and trading,
- Post-closure site cover and vegetation, and
- Hydrogeological siting.
Criteria for Siting, Establishment, and Operating of Sanitary Landfills
- Sanitary landfills should be built on an area that is accessible from roadways and away from aquifers, groundwater reservoirs, or watershed areas.
- The site should be large enough to accommodate the waste of the community it services in five years.
- A system of layers and/or geosynthetic membranes, also called “liners,” must be established to contain leachate and reduce or prevent contamination of groundwater.
- A leachate collection and treatment system and gas control recovery system must be installed.
- A groundwater monitoring well system must be established.
- There should be covers, daily and final, that are made up of soil and geosynthetic materials which will protect the waste from long-term contact with the environment.
- A closure and post-closure care procedure must be in place.
- Records of waste volumes, excavations, unusual occurrences, and personnel training among others must be kept and submitted to the DENR upon request.
- Monitoring of surface water and groundwater quality as well as gas emissions.
- Signs containing the facility name and other pertinent information shall be visible at each point of access.
- Toilets and handwashing facilities, safe and adequate drinking water supply, and communication devices should be available for the facility personnel.
- Waste shall be spread and compacted to the best possible extent when filling.
Hazardous Waste Management
Definition and Classifications of Hazardous Wastes
Hazardous substances are those which pose either short-term or long-term health and/or environmental hazard. Hazardous wastes, hence, refer to any waste “which present unreasonable risk and/or injury to health and safety of the people or the environment.” According to the Revised Procedures and Standards for the Management of Hazardous Wastes in the Philippines, each type of hazardous waste has a “waste number” designation. The waste number designation includes the letter of the general hazardous waste category followed by three numerical digits. The general hazardous waste classifications and the corresponding letter designations are as follows:
- Wastes with cyanide
- Acid wastes
- Alkali wastes
- Wastes with inorganic chemicals
- Reactive chemical wastes
- Inks, dyes, pigments, paint, resins, latex, adhesives, organic sludge
- Waste organic solvents
- Organic wastes (grease)
- Oil
- Toxic waste containers
- Stabilized waste
- Organic chemicals
- Miscellaneous wastes
The complete list of hazardous waste types can be found on pages 13 to 18 of the Revised Procedures and Standards for the Management of Hazardous Wastes (DENR DAO 2013-22). Exempted from the above hazardous waste classification scheme are solid wastes, commercial and industrial wastewaters disposed on-site, septic tank effluents and associated sullage wastewaters, and some untreated soils from mining, quarrying, and excavation.
Requirements for Hazardous Waste Generator Registration and Renewal
Hazardous waste generators are categorized as either small, medium, or large generators depending on the amount (in kilograms per year) and type of waste that they generate. Any single entity generating two hazardous waste types is classified as a large generator regardless of the amount. All hazardous waste generators shall accomplish the online registration and pay the corresponding registration fee. The requirements upon registration are:
- Process flow diagram of all wastes streams
- Description of the existing waste management plan
- Copy of Pollution Control Officer (PCO) accreditation or Designation Letter as PCO
- Copy of Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) or Certificate of Non-Coverage (CNC), Permit to Operate Air Pollution Installation (POA), and Wastewater Discharge Permit (WWDP)
- Comprehensive contingency program and specific spill response plan per hazardous waste generated
- Certificate of training on Hazardous Waste Management, Spill Response and other relevant training, and
- Duly notarized accountability statement on liabilities and responsibilities in case of spill or emergency.
Requirements for Hazardous Waste Transporter Registration
Hazardous waste transporters transport wastes approved by the DENR-EMB Regional office and are being requested for transport by a duly registered waste generator. For a transporter to be registered, they shall provide the following documents:
- Official Letter of Request
- Duly notarized affidavit attesting to the truth, accuracy, and genuineness of all information, documents, and records contained and attached in the application
- Duly notarized accountability Statement on liabilities and responsibilities in case of spill or emergency
- Duly notarized affidavit of undertaking [vehicle(s) is (are) to be solely used in transporting HW]
- Accomplished Registration Form for HW Transporter (Form C ver.2018)
- Business Permit and SEC or DTI Registration certificate
- Vehicle’s Official Receipt (OR) and Certificate of Registration (CR) issued by LTO.
- Contract of Lease/Deed of Sale of vehicle(s) (if applicable)
- Valid emission test result
- Name of drivers and other personnel including proof of competency:
- Certified true copies of Professional Driver’s License, indicating that the proposed drivers have the appropriate licenses to drive the vehicle for waste transport (must be issued by the Land Transportation Office)
- Certificate of Training from duly recognized training on waste management and emergency preparedness and response. The training certificate must have been issued within the last three (3) years. The training shall cover the following topics and must be of a minimum of eight (8) hours:
- Waste identification and classification
- Hazard Categorization and Operability
- Separation and segregation
- Placards and Label
- Personal Protective Equipment
- Safety Data Sheet
- Emergency and Contingency Planning
- Applicable Government Regulations
- Contingency and Emergency Plan
- Financial guarantee (commercial insurance, surety bond, trust fund, or a combination thereof, whose amount is commensurate to the identified risks and callable upon demand by the Department during spill or emergency)
- Valid contract with registered Treatment Storage and Disposal (TSD) facility(ies)
- Valid Pollution Control Officer Accreditation Certificate
- Summary of Permit to Transport (PTT) issued (for renewal application)
- Chemical Control Order (CCO) [Cyanide, Mercury, Lead, ODS, PCB, and Asbestos] (if applicable)
Once approved, a Transporter Registration Identification (ID) Number will be issued and the applicant will be automatically registered to the Online Hazardous Waste Manifest System. The EMB will notify the transporter one month before its registration expires. In order to accomplish the online renewal registration, the following requirements must be presented:
- Summary of transported wastes within the previous year
- Updated permits and licenses from the previously submitted documents during registration, including the drivers’ licenses and certificate of drug tests and training attended.
- Financial Statement of the previous year with stamped received from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Certificate of No Pending Violation from the EMB Regional Office.
Requirements for Hazardous Waste TSD Facility Registration
Hazardous wastes can only be stored, recycled, reprocessed, treated, and disposed of in the prescribed and approved TSD facilities of the DENR. There are six categories of these facilities, namely:
- Facilities that conduct onsite treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes
- Facilities that commercially treat industrial hazardous wastes using thermal technologies
- Landfills that only accept hazardous wastes for final disposal
- Non-onsite recycling or reprocessing facilities for hazardous waste
- Facilities that accept and treat non-onsite hazardous wastes using immobilization, encapsulation, polymerization, and the likes
- Storage facilities
To be an approved TSD facility in any of the above categories, registration is likewise required where the following documents are needed:
- Official Letter of Request
- Duly notarized affidavit attesting to the truth, accuracy, and genuineness of all information, documents, and records contained and attached in the application
- Accomplished Registration Form for HW TSD Facility (Form B ver.2018)
- Copy of Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC)
- Valid Permit to Operate
- Valid Discharge Permit
- Environmental Guarantee Fund (as per DAO 2000-05)
- Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) submitted to EMB Regional Offices
- Process flow and detailed description of each treatment, recycling, disposal process identifying all by-products, end-products, and residues
- Storage Management Plan for raw materials, residues, by-products, and end-products
- Long-term plan for the recycled, processed, recovered and end-products
- Contingency and Emergency Plan
- Valid Pollution Control Officer Accreditation Certificate
- Valid contract with registered HW Transporter (s)
- Chemical Control Order (CCO) [Cyanide, Mercury, Lead, ODS, PCB, and Asbestos] (if applicable)
Hazardous Waste Transport Record (Manifest)
All registered activities and processes involving hazardous wastes in the Philippines go through the Online Hazardous Waste Manifest System. This system tracks the receipt, shipment, and certification processes that any hazardous waste undergoes. In other words, it provides online and real-time tracking information regarding hazardous wastes from the point of generation to the point of ultimate treatment, storage, or disposal.
Prescribed Fees for the Different Hazardous Waste Management Activities
- Registration of Hazardous Waste Generators – Php 600.00 per generator
- Annual Registration of Transporters – Php 500.00 per vehicle
- Permit to Transport – Php 500.00 per hazardous waste
- Annual Registration of TSD Facilities – Php 15,000.00 per facility
- Annual Registration of Co-Processing Facility (Non-Hazardous Waste) – Php 500.00 per facility
If you ever need professional help on solid & hazardous waste management, your friends at GreenDev would love to meet you online at your soonest convenience, or read about your requirements via email and scope out our possible collaboration.
Credits and Sources
Reference policies
- Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000
- DENR DAO 2001-34
- DENR DAO 2013-22
- National Solid Waste Management Strategy for 2012-2016
- Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990
Reference publications
- EcoGov Project. (2011). Waste Analysis and Characterization Study – A Manual. Philippine Environmental Governance Project, Pasig City, Philippines. Retrieved from https://faspselib.denr.gov.ph/node/323