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The Entrepreneurial Solution
But the local officials knew they could only succeed in mobilizing support
from residents if they turned garbage to gold. People would get involved
and commit to a program that promised economic gain. They would
have to convert the “cash from trash” idea into a reality. Thus was born
“Balik Inang Kalikasan! Balik Amang Pabrika!” (BIKBAP) Waste
Recycling Program.
The program aimed to set up an effective solid waste management
system which follows the basic principles of ecological waste
management. It aimed to minimize the production of waste while at the
same time recover possible resources from garbage. BIKBAP also
sought to establish and administer the operation of a waste processing
facility. Thus the Carmona Ecology Center was created.
The local government set aside P5 million for the program, a portion
of which was used to establish the Carmona Ecology Center. The center
has become a showcase of “good practice” in solid waste management
in the country. An Organic Demo Farm helps visitors see the benefits of
the program.
A BIKBAP gang was formed, comprised of volunteers from different
non-government organizations, religious groups and senior citizens.
They help enforce solid waste ordinances the local government has
enacted, go house to house to campaign and organize eco-tours and
slogan-making contests. They meet every week to plan their activities.
Barangays that are already operating materials recovery facility earn
an estimated average of P2,000 a week from the sale of recyclables.
These earnings are allocated to barangay eco-aides and beautification
projects.
At the ecology center, production of compost out of segregated and
processed garbage yields an average of 75 sacks per week. This is
sold to farmers and horticulturists at P150 per sack. An average of
P40,000 per month is generated from the sale and is used to finance
part of the operating cost of the CEC, and of the cost of advocating the
program. The center is seen as self-liquidating.
A number of residents have put up small junk shops because of the
increasing volume of recyclables redeemed from the community and
mostly sold by the garbage collectors themselves. They get to earn an
additional P500 per week, on average, selling recyclable materials.
Women are trained to recycle trash into fine craft and sell them for profit.
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