How The Philippines Takes Action to Combat E-waste

According to the Global Environment Report in 2019, The Philippines have generated an approximate 3.9 kilograms of e-waste per capita. Also reported in 2019 by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), a total of 32,664.41 metric tons of waste electrical and electronic equipment were generated in the country. 

The Climate Change Commission (CCC), an autonomous and independent agency with the same status of a national government, is proposing procedures to address the increasing problem of disposed electronic and electrical equipment in the Philippines, one of the top generators of e-waste in Southeast Asia.

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The Government must create a regulatory framework and a national policy on e-waste management, voiced by Executive Director and Vice Chairperson of CCC, Emmanuel de Guzman. He also recommends the formulation of an action plan and a national strategy for institutionalizing the collection and recycling of e-waste.

The EMB of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) acknowledges the issue regarding e-wastes and its effects on the environment. They mentioned that the regulatory framework and national policy for the management of e-waste or electronic waste with the enactment of the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act or the Republic Act 6969, have been existing for a long time, as early as 1990. This law specifically seeks to regulate the manufacture, importation, handling, processing, transportation, storage, distribution, sale, treatment, disposal, and use of hazardous wastes and toxic chemicals that presents risks to the environment and human health.

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The DENR made another set of protocols and principles on the management of waste electrical and electronic equipment, which were found to involve flame retardants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers and polybrominated biphenyls, as well as hazardous metals like cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium, and mercury, in 2013. Constituted in the DENR Administrative Order 2013-22, treatment, storage and disposal facilities, transporters, and generators of toxic waste, are mandatory to register with EMB to provide comprehensive details and document all movement of the waste with the corresponding permit to manifest and transport or the document of chain-of-custody.

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A treatment, storage and disposal facility is officially compulsory to grant a certificate of treatment once the toxic waste has been treated. This cycle follows the cradle-to-grave hazardous waste management, tracking the waste from the process of generation, transportation, recycling and reusing, treatment and disposal.

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Aside from the local government, there are numerous private institutions and organizations all over the Philippines that help support and combat against e-wastes and the hazardous effects it presents on the environment and human health. One of the global waste management businesses of the LafargeHolcim Group, the Geocycle Philippines, aims for a zero-waste future. For more than a decade, Geocycle has been actively promoting and developing customized, safe, and innovative solutions for environmental waste management in the Philippines. 

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Telecommunication companies like Globe Telecom, Inc., PLDT Inc., and Smart Communications, Inc. have also participated in addressing the issue of e-wastes. As a part of its advocacy on environmental protection, Globe Telecom, Inc. has set up more than 100 collection locations nationwide for e-wastes, this is to inspire and motivate the people to practice the proper disposal of battery-operated devices or electronic and IT peripherals and accessories that are no longer wanted or working. PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications, Inc., together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources launched a program to collect electronic wastes from cell offices and sites. 
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The companies are working alongside the Department of Environment and Natural Resources through the Environment Management Bureau and its licensed provider JMR Trade and Transport Services to gather disposed tablets, computers, phones, devices, and charger accessories.  

References: 

Business Mirror. (2021, January 5). Globe sets up over 100 e-waste collection points nationwide. https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/01/05/globe-sets-up-over-100-e-waste-collection-points-nationwide/

Geocycle. (n.d.). Geocycle Philippines. https://www.geocycle.com/philippines?address=Philippines

Ibañez, J.P. (2021, June 11). PLDT, DENR team up for e-waste collection. BusinessWorld. https://www.bworldonline.com/pldt-denr-team-up-for-e-waste-collection/

Miguel, M. (2020, October 29). EMB: National policy, regulatory framework already in place for e-waste mngt. DENR GOVPH. https://www.denr.gov.ph/index.php/news-events/press- releases/1918-emb-national-policy-regulatory-framework-already-in-place-for-e-wastemngt

Prevention Web. (n.d.). Climate Change Commission (CCC). https://www.preventionweb.net/organizations/9894

Teves, C. (2020, October 16). CCC pitches moves vs. e-waste. PNA GOVPH. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1118785