Philippine City to Go Zero Waste
15 September 2009, Alaminos City, Philippines. The City of Hundred Islands is taking further action to promote a vibrant and eco-conscious city by embracing and nurturing a vision en route for Zero Waste.
In a simple ceremony held yesterday, the City of Alaminos, the home of the Hundred Islands National Park, formalized a collaborative project with the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) towards a “Zero Waste Alaminos City.”
The City Government led by Mayor Hernani Braganza signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with GAIA, a global civil society network that is championing Zero Waste as a vehicle for health, environmental and climate protection and for green jobs and enterprises.
The collaboration between the two entities will see the strengthening of the city’s ecological solid waste management with enhanced Zero Waste policy and social mobilization for waste prevention, reduction, reuse, recycling and composting.
“It gives us much pleasure to collaborate with GAIA in implementing a timely program that will assist the government and the people of Alaminos City in meeting our shared goal for a vibrant and eco-conscious city through a Zero Waste strategy,” stated Mayor Braganza.
“A Zero Waste Alaminos City is in accord with our mission of preserving and protecting the environment, while creating a community-driven system for managing discards as well as providing opportunities for community involvement, skills-building and livelihood for our people,” he further said.
The Zero Waste project, with assistance from the Planet Wheeler Foundation, will add to a growing list of eco-friendly initiatives in Alaminos City under the dynamic leadership of Mayor Braganza.
For his part, Manny Calonzo, Co-Coordinator of GAIA, said that “with this collaborative venture, we hope to demonstrate how communities can escape the costly and ecologically-destructive ‘bury or burn’ trap.”
“With the indispensable support and participation of the city’s leaders and people, Alaminos City will put into practice the most economical climate mitigation program that can cut greenhouse gas emissions from reckless consumption and disposal,” he added.
According to GAIA, the destruction of waste resources in open dumps, landfills and incinerators, including cement kilns, contributes to a climate changing cycle “by depriving the economy of reused, recycled and composted materials, thus requiring increased extraction of raw materials.”
To achieve zero waste to disposal, the Zero Waste Alaminos City project will boost up current efforts under the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act with a Zero Waste policy and action plan, augment community recycling and composting activities, eliminate open dumping and open burning, spread information and knowledge and cultivate people’s support and participation.
GAIA plans to tap Zero Waste specialists from within its local partner, the EcoWaste Coalition, which has a pool of active Zero Waste educators, strategists and planners. GAIA will further link up with Zero Waste champions around the world to enrich and bolster the collaborative venture towards “Zero Waste Alaminos City.”
