City Ordinance 2

Table of Contents

Introduction..........................................................................................................................2I. The Problem

A. The Ondoy Experience...........................................................................................21. Muntinlupa City Status.......................................................................2

B. Plastic and plastic related products........................................................................51. What is Plastic?...................................................................................52. The consequence of undisciplined use of plastic................................6

II. The SolutionA. Plastic Prohibition..................................................................................................7

1. How the people were informed...........................................................72. On business establishments and individuals.......................................83. Penalties..............................................................................................8

B. Bring-Your-Own-Bag (BYOB).............................................................................91. Greener Purpose.................................................................................9

III. The ImpactA. Result of the City Ordinance.................................................................................10

1. Plastic-less effect...............................................................................102. Inspiring other communities...............................................................11

Conclusion...........................................................................................................................11Recommendations/Suggestions..........................................................................................12Appendices

Appendix AAppendix B

References

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Jayson M. VillezaMr. Arthur J. LagbasEM-4July 16, 2012

INTRODUCTION

Muntinlupa City is the southernmost city in Philippine National Capital Region. It is bordered on the north by Taguig City; to the northwest by Parañaque City; by Las Piñas City on the west; to the southwest by the city of Bacoor; by the city of San Pedro, Laguna on the south; and by Laguna de Bay on the east, the largest lake in the country. Its City classification is a Highly Urbanized City with a population of more than 450,000 from Census as of 2007 and is given the nickname "Emerald City of the Philippines" by the Department of Tourism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muntinlupa). It has a land area of 46.7 square kilometers and is composed of nine (9) Barangays (ESC, 2011).

I. A.

Eight of the city’s nine barangays are located along Laguna de Bay’s southwestern coast, namely (North to South): Sucat, Buli, Cupang, Alabang, Bayanan, Putatan, Poblacion, and Tunasan (see Figure 1). 11.2 kilometers of Laguna Lake’s shoreline is within the territorial jurisdiction of Muntinlupa City. At the height of Typhoon Ondoy last September 2009, these Barangays have been flooded. It lasted for two weeks or so as I was able to take part in an outreach project with my friends. Barangay Tunasan was not passable at that time according to the formerly National Disaster Coordinating Council now National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (Joven, 2009).

The most of the creeks and rivers (see Table 1 for list of rivers/creeks) of the city overflowed that caused the flood in the areas near Laguna de bay (see Figure 2). The flood was 2 to 3 feet high (see Figure 3 and 4). Power was cut in many parts of the city, partly due to flooding but also as a protective measure in some districts to prevent people attempting to escape the floodwaters from being electrocuted by fallen lines. Waist-deep floodwaters prompted transport officials to close the busy South Luzon Expressway. Four families (20 people) in the village of Tunasan, Muntinlupa City sought refuge in a covered court (Tandoc & Evangelista 2009). 10,572 families were affected by severe flooding. Damage to infrastructure amounted to Php. 420 million (ESC, 2009).

Figure 1. Muntinlupa boundary map (Source: Muntinlupa ESC)

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Table 1. Rivers and Tributaries

River/Creek Name Length (m)Bagumbayan River 1,266Sucat River 2,689Palico River 944.3Kabulusan River 990.6Pasong Diablo River 6,098Manggate River 7,909Alabang River 14,720Bayanan River 12,080Balimbing River 3,214Magdaong River 4,771Magdaong Creek 3,827Tunasan River 16,030Sto. Niño Creek 1,222Poblacion Creek 7,539TOTAL (14) 83,299.90

(Source: Muntinlupa ESC)

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Figure 2. Flood Prone Areas (Source: Muntinlupa ESC)

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Figure 3. San Guillermo St., Bgy. Putatan (Source: Muntinlupa ESC)

Figure 4 Thousands of displaced families were brought to the nearest evacuation area where they spent almost 4 months due to their submerged houses (Source: Muntinlupa ESC).

I. B.

Plastics were first invented in 1860, but have only been widely used in the last 30 years. They are durable, light, moldable, hygienic and economic, making them suitable for a wide variety of applications including food and product packaging, car manufacturing, agriculture and housing products. They are made from natural resources such as crude oil, coal and natural gas using energy-intensive techniques that destroy fragile ecosystems. These resources cannot be replaced once depleted (http://www.cleanuptheworld.org/PDF/au/cua-plastic-recycling-fact-sheet.pdf). Plastic is a growing disaster environmentally. Plastic packaging is an enormous source of landfill waste especially the ubiquitous plastic bag and is regularly eaten by numerous land and marine animals that leads to fatal consequences (http://lifewithoutplastic.com/en/why-is-plastic-a-problem).

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“Plastic garbage worsened the disaster spawned by the floods triggered by storm Ondoy in Metro Manila last September. (They) clogged waterways, blocking deadly floodwaters from heading out to the bay and subsiding to safe levels. In the aftermath, the images left to warn us of future hazards were plastic (bags) that draped trees or that formed big mounds on streets,” Andy Alviz, an Outstanding Kapampangan awardee, said to the local media in his invitation for a press conference on the coalition’s launch (Cervantes, 2009). Plastic garbage have been recovered in the rivers and creeks of Muntinlupa City upon the clean-up operation that followed after the Ondoy tragedy. Waterways in Muntinlupa would be clogged with all sorts of trash (plastic mostly) (see Figure 5), especially after a downpour before implementation of City Ordinance 10-109. Plastics have the most share in waste collected as of 2010 (see Table 2 and 3).

Figure 5. Plastic nuisance in a creek (Source: Muntinlupa ESC)

Table 2. Volume of Waste Collected, CY 2010 Percent (%) Volume (cu. m.) Weight (kg) Weight (ton)

Paper 11.91 110.22 15,675.51 15.68 Glass 3.76 34.79 4,947.38 4.95 Plastic 29.30 271.11 38,556.89 38.56 Metal 4.08 37.75 5,368.39 5.37 Organic 41.48 383.84 54,589.46 54.59 Inorganic 9.29 86.01 12,231.96 12.23 Special Waste 0.12 1.13 161.03 0.16

Hazardous 0.06 0.54 76.93 0.08

Total 100.00 925.38 131,607.54 131.61

(Source: Environmental Sanitation Center (Muntinlupa ESC))

Volume (cu. m.) Weight (kg) Weight (ton)

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Plastic 117.72 16,742.29 16.74

Styro 7.98 1,135.47 1.14

Total 125.70 17,877.76 17.88

Table 3. *Estimated Volume and Weight of Plastic and Styro Collected, CY 2010

*Based on 13.58% computation using Waste Analysis Characterization Study (Source: Muntinlupa ESC)

II. A

Ordinance No. 10-109 was entitled “An Ordinance Prohibiting the Use of Plastic Bags on Dry Goods, Regulating Its Utilization on Wet Goods, and Prohibiting the Use of Styrofoam/Styrophor in the City of Muntinlupa and Prescribing the Penalties Thereof.”. This city ordinace was the solution made by the city council to reduce the waste generated from plastic that resulted in increased flood occurrence especially when Typhoon Ondoy striked the area. It was enacted on January 2010 and has undergone a moratorium for a year. It was implemented on January 2011 which means that any violators hereon will be apprehended and dealt with accordingly. Dissemination of information was done through leaflets (see Figure 6) and campaign in communities, villages, and subdivisions (see Figure 7). See Appendix A for complete details of the ordinance.

Figure 6. Leaflet Dissemination Figure 7. Information Campaign


List of Councilors who took part in the making of the ordinanceHon. Coun. Joselito V. Arevalo

Figure 7. Compliance Monitoring (Source: Muntinlupa ESC)

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Hon. Coun. Allan Rey A. CamilonHon. Coun. Allen F. AmpayaHon. Coun. Ma. Luisa Babaran-Echavez, MDHon. Coun. Margarita Amythyst Patdu-Labios, MDHon. Coun. Melchor R. TevesHon. Coun. Atty. Icasiano M. dela ReaHon. Coun. Ermie S. EspeletaHon. Coun. Marita Deang-Calalang, DMDHon. Coun. Francis Ian T. BagatsingHon. Coun. Luvi P. ConstantinoHon. Coun. Engr. Marissa Cole-RongavillaHon. Coun. Engr. Mamerto T. Sevilla, Jr.Hon. Coun. Vergel C. UlandayHon. Coun. Robert A. AbasHon. Coun. Atty. Rey. E. BulayHon. Coun. Celso C. Dioko

The ordinance was sponsored by Hon. Coun. Joselito V. Arevalo and were co-sponsored by the rest of the councilors. Only one councilor was absent on the session. It was attested by Vice-Mayor Artemio A. Simundac which was the presiding officer during the 105 th

Regular Session by the 5th Sangguniang Panglungsod of Muntinlupa on the 18th day of January 2010. It was signed and approved by Mayor Aldrin L. San Pedro on the same day.

The City Environmental Sanitation Center (ESC) is the governing body responsible for the implementation of the ordinance. Business establishments and/or individuals are prohibited from using plastic bags as packaging materials for dry goods, using plastic bags as secondary packaging material for wet goods, using styrofoam/styrophor and other similar materials as containers for food, produce and other products selling or offering plastic bags for use as secondary packaging material or as primary packaging material on dry goods. The City conducted massive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaigns using print, radio, television and internet, and promoted alternative biodegradable packaging materials.

Penalties are applicable only for business establishments and are as follows: 1st Offense: Php 500.00, 2nd Offense: Php 1,000.00, 3rd Offense: Php 2,500.00 and/or imprisonment of not more than 6 months upon the discretion of the court, and in the case of

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business establishments, cancellation of their license to operate for a period of one (1) year. Surprise inspections were done by the ESC personnel to monitor their compliance (see Figure 7). Also, ESC together with the police inspects to apprehend violators.

II. B

People have adapted to the change of things (see Figure 8). Switching from plastic to paper or other alternative packaging materials was quite hard and some were even shocked. They were ought to bring their own bags or suffer carrying paper bags without handles (see Figure 9). The means to undergo this change is mainly to promote greener living. An industry group, the Philippine Plastics Industry Association said that the problem was the lack of discipline and not the plastic. The Philippine Association of Supermarkets Inc. argued that paper bags were five times more costly than plastic bags (“The plastic problem”, 2011).

Figure 9. Those who don’t bring their own bag (Source: J. Villeza Date taken: July 15, 2012)

Figure 8. BYOB (Source: J. Villeza Date taken: July 15, 2012)

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III.

Table 5. Estimated Consumption and Reduction of Plastic (Feb. – May 2011)


The table above (Table 5) shows the estimated consumption and reduction of plastic. These result means that the ordinance is taking effect effectively.

Figure 10. BYOB Effect (Source: Muntinlupa ESC)

Figure 10 shows the significant improvement of the waterways in the city with the implementation of the ordinance.

Estimated consumption: plastic- 16.39%, styro- 0%

Estimated reduction: plastic- 83.61%, styro- 100%

(From L-R) Bayanan River, Palico River and Sto. Niño Creek are noticeably garbage- free, minimizing flooding at low-level parts of the City.

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Based on the ocular inspection and interview I conducted on the stakeholders and local government unit specifically the ESC, the ordinance literally changed their lifestyle. There were 200 violators on the kick-off or the implementation of the ordinance on January 2011. The main purpose of this ordinance was to reduce the waste generated by the city. During the clean-up operations after the Ondoy event which flooded lowland areas, 10 to 20 years old plastic wastes were recovered. This was due to the attitude of the public towards improper garbage disposal. The City must do something to prevent this from happening again and the ordinance was their solution. Both the business firms and consumers are at stake. Penalties are given to firms which violated the ordinance and consequence such as uncomfortable carriage for the consumers when they buy without their own bag (V. Alon, personal communication, June 2012).

From 131 tons/day on the year 2010 when the ordinance was still not implemented, the waste generated on the year 2011 became 127 tons/day when the ordinance was implemented. 4 tons/day is already a big value and the goal was to reduce 11% of the total waste generated which is equivalent to 15 tons/day. Now, other communities are visiting the Muntinlupa government to seek advice and help them establish such ordinance so they can also reduce their waste generation. Albay province in Legazpi, Bicol will ban the use of plastic bags and styrofoams starting June 1, 2012 by all business establishments, sari-sari stores, public markets, neighbourhoods and up to the big malls. The ordinance was signed by their Governor Joey Salceda on February 24, 2012 (Nasol, 2012). Senator Loren Legarda’s bill (see Appendix B) asks supermarkets, restaurants and retail stores to cease the use of plastic bags. “As the problems of pollution, environmental degradation and severe weather shifts escalate, all sectors of society must act with dispatch. Individuals must make conscious efforts to change our daily routine and practices to produce a positive impact on our environment,” Legarda said (“The plastic problem”, 2011).

CONCLUSION

The ordinance will be implemented forever otherwise revised or amended (V. Alon, personal communication, June 2012). It has been a year since it has taken full effect and the result is beneficial both for the health of the people and the environment. I observed that bringing your own bag when you shop definitely reduces waste and at the same time decreases the consumption of bags be it paper or plastic. The success of this ordinance was seen through the efforts of the LGU and the stakeholders in making Muntinlupa City plastic-less. I used the term “plastic-less” as other cities and places still use plastic and people go there and we can’t remove plastic completely as it also has its significant use especially on wet goods.

The ingenuity of the people on adapting to such changes is really amazing. Aside from alternative bags, supermarkets used the cartons that were originally the packaging of another product to lessen also the consumption of paper (see Figure 11). This is just the beginning of caring for the environment as other stuffs have to be resolved too.

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RECOMMENDATIONS/SUGGESTIONS:The ordinance is fully implemented and everyone is maintaining it. Surprise inspections are still done by the ESC. I personally am proud to be a citizen of Muntinlupa as it serves as a model to the neighboring towns and cities. But then the production and consumption of paper is much more costly than plastic. Biodegradable plastics are being enhanced so that trees to be converted to paper will decrease. It is really the discipline of people that will help change our community. Also, strong political will is very important to implement such policies.

It is because of the people’s bad performance in waste disposal that lead to the invention of this ordinance. Lack of discipline is the main culprit. Proper management of waste may not require such ordinance as all raw materials we use are finite. Alternative packaging products that may come from recycled products/by-products can be used (see Figure 12). Only that we should evaluate and test its safety before using it as it may raise potential public health and safety hazard. Simplifying lifestyle is what I suggest to fully preserve our environment.

Figure 11. Cartons used as packaging (Source: J. Villeza Date taken: July 15, 2012)

Figure 12. Alternative Packaging Material (Source: J. Villeza Date taken: June 19, 2012)

Documents

City Ordinance 2