Introduction
On January 26, 2001, Republic Act No. 9003 (R.A. 9003) otherwise known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 was signed into law by the Philippine Government. This law requires all Local Government Units in the country to establish an ecological solid waste management program within their jurisdictions and provides the necessary institutional mechanisms to attain its objectives.
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is also carried out to recover resources from it. Waste management can involve solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive substances, with different methods and fields of expertise for each.
Waste management practices differ for developed and developing nations, for urban and rural areas, and for residential and industrial producers. Management for non-hazardous residential and institutional waste in metropolitan areas is usually the responsibility of local government authorities, while management for non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste is usually the responsibility of the generator.
BIODEGRADABLE
when a substance is able to be broken down by microorganisms into basic elements like carbon dioxide and water.
a type of waste, typically originating from plant or animal sources, which may be broken down by other living organisms
NON BIODEGRADABLE
It will NOT break down (or won't for many many years). Examples are plastics, metal and glass. Dangerous chemicals and toxins are also non-biodegradable, as are plastic grocery bags, Styrofoam (polystyrene), and other similar materials.
What are the hazardous waste?
Hazardous wastes pose a greater risk to the environment and human health than non hazardous wastes and thus require a stricter control regime. This is laid down in Directive 91/689/EEC, as amended by Directive 94/31/EC. It provides addititional record keeping, monitoring and control obligations from the “cradle to the grave”, i.e., from the waste producer to the final disposal or recovery. In addition higher attention is required when different categories of hazardous wastes are mixed with each other or with non hazardous wastes in order to prevent risks for the environment and human health. Moreover, the permit exemptions that may be granted to installations dealing with hazardous wastes are more restrictive than for installations dealing with other wastes.
In order to simplify Union legislation, the provisions of Directive 91/689/EEC have been integrated into the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC. In the Waste Framework Directive, some obsolete provisions regarding hazardous wastes have been removed and clarity of the text has been improved. Directive 91/689/EEC shall be repealed with effect from 12 December 2010.
The classification into hazardous and non hazardous waste is based on the system for the classification and labelling of dangerous substances and preparations, which ensures the application of similar principles over their whole life cycle. The properties which render waste hazardous are laid down in the Directive 91/689/EEC and are further specified by the Waste List Decision 2000/532/EC as last amended by Decision 2001/573/EC.
