Managing Solid Wastes in the Philippines Essay Example

Managing Solid Wastes in the Philippines Essay Example Managing Solid Wastes in the Philippines Paper Managing Solid Wastes in the Philippines Paper Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal, managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is a distinct practice from resource recovery which focuses on delaying the rate of consumption of natural resources. All waste materials, whether they are solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive fall within the remit of waste management Managing Solid Wastes in the Philippines Solid waste, over the past thirty years, has remained the most visible, and silently dangerous, environmental problem in the country. In September 1999, not one Filipino was left without a trauma out of the tragedy that befell Payatas in Quezon City. Hundreds died, buried alive underneath filth, as mountains of garbage collapsed due to heavy downpour. This is among the worst human-made disasters that have ever hit the Philippines, a disaster we should never allow to happen again. Dirty Living The countrys garbage problem has a lot to do with lifestyle. Every individual must be responsible for the wastes he generates. Considering that we are among the most populated in the world, with the amount of trash each of us produces, it is no surprise that our lands have become the largest dumpsite. Our streets are lined with garbage, our waters flooded, and our creeks clogged with trash, even our mountains are junk all these are reflections of the need to heed to the serious call for waste management it is time for each and every one of us to stop living dirty. And why? The indiscriminate throwing of garbage contaminates our waters, with clogged drains open for insect breeding which brings about diseases like cholera and dengue, targeting most especially, our children. Floods have become a common sight during rainy seasons. Backyard burning, or simply, burning of garbage, releases toxic air pollutants, which leads to respiratory diseases like asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer, even death. To be direct, dirty living equals death. Trash Course The National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), chaired by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), has identified three key trends in the local garbage situation: 1) increase in sheer volume of generated wastes; 2) change in the quality and make-up of waste generated; and 3) waste handling methods. Everyday, the country has a per capita waste generation of 0.3 to 0.7 kilograms of garbage. In 2003*, we have generated 27,397 tons of garbage daily, a step backwards compared to the 19,700 tons of garbage we have generated daily in 2000 (*based on the study conducted by the NSWMC-Secretariat and the Metro Manila Solid Waste Management Project of the Asian Development Bank in 2003). That is tantamount to ten million tons of garbage generated in 2003. Of the ten million tons of generated garbage in 2003, 2.5 million came from Metro Manila. This is a strong evidence of the forecast which indicated that by 2010, in comparison to the 2000 data, waste generation shall have increased by 47%. Ways to Beat Wastes Lucky for us, the Philippine solid waste composition is generally highly-organic (biodegradable) and recyclable, with 50 percent of the wastes made up of yard, wood, and kitchen wastes. The high percentage of biodegradables is an indication of the great potential of composting as a means to recover this type of wastes, especially those coming from agricultural zones. Moreover, potentials for recycling are good considering that the remaining wastes are made up of recyclable materials. The DENR has always been steadfast in its commitment to reduce, and eventually, eradicate the amount of garbage in the country. Projects and programs on solid waste management are consistently being implemented by the Department, through the NSWMC, in coordination with the local government units, non-government organizations, international groups, and other government agencies. To date, the Commission has initiated the closure and rehabilitation of existing open dumpsites, the establishment of sanitary landfills in municipalities, the establishment of an ecological solid waste management system, the categorized compliance for disposal facilities, and the promotion and development of alternative technologies to process residual wastes. The DENR, along with the Department of Interior and Local Government and some civil society groups, has also conducted the Nationwide Search for Model Barangays for Eco-Waste Management System, to assist our local communities to comply with, and reward them on their compliance, to Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. Waste Recovery Programs are also being instituted by the government. The DENR has forged an agreement with the Recyclean Foundation, Inc (RFI) on a waste paper recovery program. The NSWMC, Tire Importers and Traders Association of the Philippines, Tire Manufacturers of the Philippines, and the Philippine Retreaders Association agreed to facilitate recovery of used tires for the effective management of the waste material which would include their recycling, re-use, and environmentally sound disposal. In terms of plastics and plastic packaging, the Polystyrene Packaging Council of the Philippines coordinated with several malls and industrial parks, to recover polystyrene wastes which resulted to the recovery of about 8,000 cu. m. of said plastics in 2003. An Agreement was made between the council and the Department of Science and Technology to design melting kettles for potential recyclers to convert polystyrene into other form of materials. To spread environmental awareness, particularly on solid waste management concerns, the DENR, together with the Eco-Waste Coalition signed an agreement for the establishment of the Ecological Solid Waste Pavilion. It is a national center for meetings, congregations, trainings, educational purposes particularly for showcasing effective, innovative and creative SWM procedures, techniques and activities. The DENR is vigilant in its quest to manage solid wastes in the Philippines. The government is bent on empowering the municipalities to address their own garbage issues. We are all parts which make up a whole in each municipality. Together, let us put a stop to the thirty years of garbage problem we have stumbled upon. We have more than enough.

Biography of Mohandas Gandhi, Indian Freedom Leader

Biography of Mohandas Gandhi, Indian Freedom Leader Mohandas Gandhi (October 2, 1869–January 30, 1948) was the father of the Indian independence movement. While fighting discrimination in South Africa, Gandhi developed satyagraha, a nonviolent way of protesting injustice. Returning to his birthplace of India, Gandhi spent his remaining years working to end British rule of his country and to better the lives of Indias poorest classes. Fast Facts: Mohandas Gandhi Known For: Leader of Indias independence movementAlso Known As: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma (Great Soul), Father of the Nation, Bapu (Father), GandhijiBorn: October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, IndiaParents: Karamchand and Putlibai GandhiDied: January 30, 1948 in New Delhi, IndiaEducation: Law degree, Inner Temple, London, EnglandPublished Works: Mohandas K. Gandhi, Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Freedoms BattleSpouse: Kasturba KapadiaChildren: Harilal Gandhi, Manilal Gandhi, Ramdas Gandhi, Devdas GandhiNotable Quote: The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members. Early Life Mohandas Gandhi was born October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, India, the last child of his father Karamchand Gandhi and his fourth wife Putlibai. Young Gandhi was a shy, mediocre student. At age 13, he married Kasturba Kapadia  as part of an arranged marriage. She bore four sons and supported Gandhis endeavors until her 1944 death. In September 1888 at age 18, Gandhi left India alone to study law in London. He attempted to become an English gentleman, buying suits, fine-tuning his English accent, learning French, and taking music lessons. Deciding that was a waste of time and money, he spent the rest of his three-year stay as a serious student living a simple lifestyle. Gandhi also adopted vegetarianism and joined the London Vegetarian Society, whose intellectual crowd introduced Gandhi to authors Henry David Thoreau and Leo Tolstoy. He also studied the Bhagavad Gita, an epic poem sacred to Hindus. These books concepts set the foundation for his later beliefs. Gandhi passed the bar on June 10, 1891, and returned to India. For two years, he attempted to practice law but lacked the knowledge of Indian law and the self-confidence necessary to be a trial lawyer. Instead, he took on a year-long case in South Africa. South Africa At 23, Gandhi again left his family and set off for the British-governed Natal province in South Africa in May 1893. After a week, Gandhi was asked to go to the Dutch-governed Transvaal province. When Gandhi boarded the train, railroad officials ordered him to move to the third-class car. Gandhi, holding first-class tickets, refused. A policeman threw him off the train. As Gandhi talked to Indians in South Africa, he learned that such experiences were common. Sitting in the cold depot that first night of his trip, Gandhi debated returning to India or fighting the discrimination. He decided that he couldnt ignore these injustices. Gandhi spent 20 years bettering Indians rights in South Africa, becoming a resilient, potent leader against discrimination. He learned about Indian grievances, studied the law, wrote letters to officials, and organized petitions. On May 22, 1894, Gandhi established the Natal Indian Congress (NIC). Although it began as an organization for wealthy Indians, Gandhi expanded it to all classes and castes. He became a leader of South Africas Indian community, his activism covered by newspapers in England and India. Return to India In 1896 after three years in South Africa, Gandhi sailed to India to bring his wife and two sons back with him, returning in November. Gandhis ship was quarantined at the harbor for 23 days, but the real reason for the delay was an angry mob of whites at the dock who believed Gandhi was returning with Indians who would overrun South Africa. Gandhi sent his family to safety, but he was assaulted with bricks, rotten eggs, and fists. Police escorted him away. Gandhi refuted the claims against him but refused to prosecute those involved. The violence stopped, strengthening Gandhis prestige. Influenced by the  Gita, Gandhi wanted to purify his life by following the concepts of aparigraha  (nonpossession) and  samabhava  (equitability). A friend gave him Unto This Last  by  John Ruskin, which inspired Gandhi to establish Phoenix Settlement, a community outside Durban, in June 1904. The settlement focused on eliminating needless possessions and living in full equality. Gandhi moved his family and his newspaper, the  Indian Opinion, to the settlement. In 1906, believing that family life was detracting from his potential as a public advocate, Gandhi took the vow of  brahmacharya  (abstinence from sex). He simplified his vegetarianism to unspiced, usually uncooked foods- mostly fruits and nuts, which he believed would help quiet his urges. Satyagraha Gandhi believed that his vow of  brahmacharya  allowed him the focus to devise the concept of  satyagraha  in late 1906. In the simplest sense,  satyagraha  is passive resistance, but Gandhi described it as truth force, or natural right. He believed exploitation was possible only if the exploited and the exploiter accepted it, so seeing beyond the current situation provided power to change it. In practice,  satyagraha  is nonviolent resistance to injustice. A  person using satyagraha could resist injustice by refusing to follow an unjust law or putting up with physical assaults and/or confiscation of his property without anger. There would be no winners or losers; all would understand the truth and agree to rescind the unjust law. Gandhi first organized satyagraha  against the Asiatic Registration Law, or Black Act, which passed in March 1907. It required all Indians to be fingerprinted and carry registration documents at all times. Indians refused fingerprinting and picketed documentation offices. Protests were organized, miners went on strike, and Indians illegally traveled from Natal to the Transvaal in opposition to the act. Many protesters, including Gandhi, were beaten and arrested. After seven years of protest, the Black Act was repealed. The nonviolent protest had succeeded. Back to India After 20 years in South Africa, Gandhi returned to India. By the time he arrived, press reports of his South African triumphs had made him a national hero. He traveled the country for a year before beginning reforms. Gandhi found that his fame conflicted with observing conditions of the poor, so he wore a loincloth (dhoti) and sandals, the garb of the masses, during this journey. In cold weather, he added a shawl. This became his lifetime wardrobe. Gandhi founded another communal settlement in Ahmadabad called Sabarmati Ashram. For the next 16 years, Gandhi lived there with his family. He was also given the honorary title of Mahatma, or Great Soul. Many credit Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913  Nobel Prize for Literature, for awarding Gandhi this name. Peasants viewed Gandhi as a holy man, but he disliked the title because it implied he was special. He viewed himself as ordinary. After the year ended, Gandhi still felt stifled because of World War I. As part of  satyagraha, Gandhi had vowed never to take advantage of an opponents troubles. With the British in a major conflict, Gandhi couldnt fight them for Indian freedom. Instead, he used satyagraha  to erase inequities among Indians. Gandhi persuaded landlords to stop forcing tenant farmers to pay increased rent by appealing to their morals and fasted to convince mill owners to settle a strike. Because of Gandhis prestige, people didnt want to be responsible for his death from fasting. Confronting British When the war ended, Gandhi focused on the fight for Indian self-rule (swaraj). In 1919, the British handed Gandhi a cause: the Rowlatt Act, which gave the British nearly free rein to detain revolutionary elements without trial. Gandhi organized a hartal (strike), which began on March 30, 1919. Unfortunately, the protest turned violent. Gandhi ended the  hartal  once he heard about the violence, but more than 300 Indians had died and more than 1,100 were injured from British reprisals in the city of Amritsar.  Satyagraha  hadnt been achieved, but the Amritsar Massacre  fueled Indian opinions against the British. The violence showed Gandhi that the Indian people didnt fully believe in satyagraha. He spent much of the 1920s advocating for it  and struggling to keep protests peaceful. Gandhi also began advocating self-reliance as a path to freedom. Since the British established India as a colony, Indians had supplied Britain with raw fiber and then imported the resulting cloth from England. Gandhi advocated that Indians spin their own cloth, popularizing the idea by traveling with a spinning wheel, often spinning yarn while giving a speech. The image of the spinning wheel (charkha) became a symbol for independence. In March 1922, Gandhi was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison for sedition. After two years, he was released following surgery to find his country embroiled in violence between Muslims and Hindus. When Gandhi began a 21-day fast still ill from surgery, many thought he would die, but he rallied. The fast created a temporary peace. Salt March In December 1928, Gandhi and the Indian National Congress (INC) announced a challenge to the British government. If India wasnt granted Commonwealth status by December 31, 1929, they would organize a nationwide protest against British taxes. The deadline passed without change. Gandhi chose to protest the British salt tax because salt was used in everyday cooking, even by the poorest. The Salt March began a nationwide boycott starting March 12,  1930, when Gandhi and 78 followers walked 200 miles from the Sabarmati Ashram to the sea. The group grew along the way, reaching 2,000 to 3,000. When they reached the coastal town of Dandi on April 5, they prayed all night. In the morning, Gandhi made a presentation of picking up a piece of sea salt from the beach. Technically, he had broken the law. Thus began an endeavor for Indians to make salt. Some picked up loose salt on the beaches, while others evaporated saltwater. Indian-made salt soon was sold nationwide. Peaceful picketing and marches were conducted. The British responded with mass arrests. Protesters Beaten When Gandhi announced a march on the government-owned Dharasana Saltworks, the British imprisoned him without trial. Although they hoped Gandhis arrest would stop the march, they underestimated his followers. The poet  Sarojini Naidu  led 2,500 marchers. As they reached the waiting police, the marchers were beaten with clubs. News of the brutal beating of peaceful protesters shocked the world. British viceroy Lord Irwin met with Gandhi and they agreed on the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, which granted limited salt production and freedom for the protesters if Gandhi called off the protests. While many Indians believed that Gandhi hadnt gotten enough from the negotiations, he viewed it as a step toward independence. Independence After the success of the  Salt March, Gandhi conducted another fast that enhanced his image as a holy man or prophet. Dismayed at the adulation, Gandhi retired from politics in 1934 at age 64. He came out of retirement five years later when the British viceroy announced, without consulting Indian leaders, that India would side with England during  World War II. This revitalized the Indian independence movement. Many British parliamentarians realized they were facing mass protests and began discussing an independent India. Although Prime Minister  Winston Churchill  opposed losing India as a colony, the British announced in March 1941 that it would free India after  World War II. Gandhi wanted independence sooner and organized a Quit India campaign in 1942. The British again jailed Gandhi. Hindu-Muslim Conflict When Gandhi was released in 1944, independence seemed near. Huge disagreements, however, arose between Hindus and Muslims. Because the majority of Indians were Hindu, Muslims feared losing political power if India became independent. The Muslims wanted six provinces in northwest India, where Muslims predominated, to become an independent country. Gandhi opposed partitioning India and tried to bring the sides together, but that proved too difficult even for the Mahatma. Violence erupted; entire towns were burned. Gandhi toured India, hoping his presence could curb the violence. Although violence stopped where Gandhi visited, he couldnt be everywhere. Partition The British, seeing India headed for civil war, decided to leave in August 1947. Before leaving, they got the Hindus, against Gandhis wishes, to agree to a  partition plan. On August 15, 1947, Britain granted independence to India and to the newly formed Muslim country of Pakistan. Millions of Muslims marched from India to Pakistan, and millions of Hindus in Pakistan walked to India. Many refugees died from illness, exposure, and dehydration. As 15 million Indians became uprooted from their homes, Hindus and Muslims attacked each other. Gandhi once again went on a fast. He would only eat again, he stated, once he saw clear plans to stop the violence. The fast began on January 13, 1948. Realizing that the frail, aged Gandhi couldnt withstand a long fast, the sides collaborated. On January 18, more than 100 representatives approached Gandhi with a promise for peace, ending his fast. Assassination Not everyone approved of the plan. Some radical Hindu groups believed that India shouldnt have been partitioned, blaming Gandhi. On January 30, 1948, the 78-year-old Gandhi spent his day discussing issues. Just past 5 p.m., Gandhi began the walk, supported by two grandnieces, to the Birla House, where he was staying in New Delhi, for a prayer meeting. A crowd surrounded him. A young Hindu named Nathuram Godse stopped before him and bowed. Gandhi bowed back. Godse shot Gandhi three times. Although Gandhi had survived five other assassination attempts, he fell to the ground, dead. Legacy Gandhis concept of nonviolent protest attracted the organizers of numerous demonstrations and movements. Civil rights leaders, especially Martin Luther King Jr., adopted Gandhis model for their own struggles. Research in the second half of the 20th century established Gandhi as a great mediator and reconciler, resolving conflicts between older moderate politicians and young radicals, political terrorists and parliamentarians, urban intelligentsia and rural masses, Hindus and Muslims, as well as Indians and British. He was the  catalyst,  if not the initiator, of three major revolutions of the 20th century: movements against colonialism, racism, and violence. His deepest strivings were spiritual, but unlike many fellow Indians with such  aspirations, he didnt retire to a Himalayan cave  to meditate. Rather, he took his cave with him everywhere he went. And, he left his thoughts to posterity: His collected writings had reached 100 volumes by the early 21st century. Sources Mahatma Gandhi: Indian Leader. Encyclopaedia Britannica.Mahatma Gandhi. History.com.