Ever wonder why flood occurs even with the littlest rain? Try to ask yourself that question. You might say, “bakit ba bumabaha kahit ang salit lang ng ulan?” or you’re surprised to see tons of trash on the road the next morning after the flood occurred, “where did all these trash come from?”.
The Philippines ranks third among countries most at risk for disasters, including floods, storms, and earthquakes. Typhoons and floods are the most devastating in terms of their social and economic impact. These affect the country’s population for which the 80 percent is for all deaths, 90 percent for the total number of affected people, and 92 percent of the total amount of economic impact.
Lack of Discipline, not Drainage Systems
Although there is a law about mismanagement of waste disposal, Philippines ranked the 3rd top source of plastic leaking into oceans in a February 2015 study. To be really honest, we Filipinos are not contributing to the cleanliness of our surroundings.
According to the April 3, 2017 issue of SunStar Philippines, a city councilor of Cebu City, Dave Tumulak, stresses that flooding is cause by irresponsible disposal of garbage. Thus, clogging up the drainage systems’ waterways. He also added that it is high time people should dispose their trash responsibly and abide by the rules on garbage management.
Furthermore, he said that if the flooding situation will worsen, there will be adverse effects not only to the people but also the economy.
“Why the lack of discipline?” you might ask. This is because we should only blame the garbage and ourselves for we carelessly throw garbage anywhere and we do not practice segregation wholeheartedly.
How To Effectively Manage Our Garbage?
Honestly, if we are diligent and disciplined enough to maintain the management of our garbage, Filipinos would not have any problems regarding this. But don’t be sad! It is not too late to change perspectives and start anew.
Start Small
There is this quote that says, “change starts within you”. I believe that we should start small, change our ways regarding the disposal of our wastes, segregate our household trash between non-biodegradable and biodegradable, and then we get to influence other people as well. Once they see that we are doing something different yet good, they would follow our footsteps and get to save Mother Earth, too!
Have More Education Campaigns
Educated residents lead to more responsible residents who will manage their waste more conscientiously. As all of us continue doing these things, will we have garbage-caused floods again? I don’t think so.
Use Less Packaging
Different kinds of plastics, paper, rubber, Styrofoam and other non-biodegradable materials make up most of the parts of the landfill. Use recycled materials instead!
Turn Your Wastes Into Fertilizers
We all know that there are two types of wastes: non-biodegradable and biodegradable. Since our non-biodegradable wastes are mostly plastic, and other related materials, we could recycle them into new products. The biodegradable wastes, such as fruit peelings and the like, on the other hand, we can let them decompose and they would become fertilizers. This will surely decrease or reduce the volume of garbage being transported out of the city.
It is NEVER too late!
“Sometimes, the problem is within us. We may not see it, but we’re feeling the consequences of our irresponsibility. We should practice discipline and consistency because it goes a long way.” Just like what it says above, it is never too late to make a change. Let’s start the change within ourselves. Let us influence other people so they could influence the others as well. Say NO to Flooding, Bring your Trash to Proper Binning!
pia_burgos 