NSWMC-CLMA Eco-Education Program

The Central Luzon Media Association (CLMA) inspired by the message of Ms. Belle Cabezo of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has come up with a project called the NSWMC-CLMA Eco-Educational Program with its Executive Director Ms. Emelita C. Aguinaldo on December 22, 2011 at the NSWMC Office at the DENR Compound in Visayas Ave, Quezon City.

Cabezo, the guest speaker during the 30th CLMA convention, elections and oath taking of officers held at the Malolos Convention Center in Malolos, Bulacan, talked about the solid waste management and the possible deputizing of some concerned parties, pursuant to the enforcement of RA 9003.

CLMA with the seven provinces (Zambales, Bataan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija and Aurora) in its fold will be in a better position to help in the implementation of RA 9003, given the proper seminars, trainings and hand-on trainings and much more when deputized as implementers.

For the project, a committee was formed chaired by Abel Pablo (Tarlac), with deputy chair Estrella Z. Gallardo (Bataan) and members Michael Balaguer (Bulacan), Ruel Navarro and Grace Navarro (Zambales) and Leandro M. Ronaldo (Aurora), with CLMA president Tony Arcenal (Bulacan) as over-all chairman.

Newly elected officers of CLMA who were elected and inducted on Dec. 16, 2011 were Thony Arcenal, President (Bulacan); Ronald Leander, Executive Vice President (Aurora); Alma Ochotorena (Past President), VP for Print (Pampanga); Reynaldo Soriano (Past President), VP for Print (Zambales); Michael Balaguer, Secretary, (Bulacan); George Alex Tenorio, Treasurer (Bulacan); Estrella Z. Gallardo (Past President) Auditor (Bataan); Grace Navarro, PRO (Zambales); Jimmy Benzon (Past President), Chief Marshall (Bataan) and Joy Franklin Gonzales (Past President), Business Manager (Tarlac).

They are the set of officers to spearhead the NSWMC-CLMA Eco-Educational Program, the first project of CLMA 2012.

Advisers to the association are: CLMA Past President Jerry Uy (Zambales), CLMA Past President Francis Cardona (Tarlac) and an awarded writer Bienvenido Ramos (Bulacan).

Republic Act 9009 in a nutshell.
WASTE REDUCTION and proper solid waste segregation are no longer choices we have to make. As law-abiding citizens of this country, we are required to follow a law enacted as early as 2011.

Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, was signed into law on January 26, 2001. It is considered a broad-based and comprehensive approach to solid waste management.

It involves segregation at source, segregated collection, storage, transfer, processing, treatment and disposal of solid waste.

The law promotes a way of thinking that waste is a resource that can be recovered. This can be achieved by following the 3 Rs: reduction, reuse, and recycle. The law mandates us to put these principles into practice. By doing so, the problem of solid waste management can be solved.

The law requires the following: solid waste must be reduced at source; recyclable materials must be recovered; the remaining waste, after recyclable and biodegradable materials have been separated and used, is to be disposed of properly.

Solid waste management begins inside the household. Starting in our homes, we must learn to conserve resources so we can reduce the amount of materials that we throw away.

Our local government units (LGUs) are responsible for enforcing the law. Government agencies on the national level are required to support LGUs in carrying out this responsibility. LGUs are thus required to draw up a solid waste management plan.

In terms of area of responsibility, the barangay is tasked to ensure that households and establishments reduce waste, reuse materials, and recover recyclable items. The city or municipality provides a garbage collection system, and proper waste treatment and disposal facility that protect the environment. Estrella Z. Gallardo, PSciJourn MegaManila