Solid waste management collection costs in urban barangays: The Cadiz City experience

Abstract

Human activities generate wastes that are often discarded, as they are considered as worthless. The most common method of waste disposal is to first collect waste from the source and then dispose it in the dumpsite or landfill. In our country, the disposal of waste is under R.A.9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. This paper presents the results of a study of actual municipal solid waste (MSW) costs and respective management practices of the urban barangays of Cadiz city. Barangays Zone 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Daga and Banquerohan were chosen to be the study area. Data on solid waste collection, fuel and oil costs, maintenance cost, salaries, and wages of drivers and garbage collectors and supervisors, from eight urban barangays of the city were gathered and segregated in the agency reports. The monthly waste generation of the study area examined ranged from 431.30 tons/month to 485.80 tons/month, while the total waste management cost ranged from a minimum of Php 7,747.15/month/brgy to a maximum of Php 69,784.52/month/ brgy. The solid waste management costs are determined by a number of factors, including their quantity and composition, collection and transportation systems, treatment and final disposal methods, etc. A number of efficiency indicators are also estimated for each barangay in terms of solid waste disposal policy. Finally, an attempt to identify the causal factors for the differentiation of municipal costs is made, without underestimating the restrictions of the current analysis originating from the lack of reliable waste production data and full cost accounting systems. From the study, both the City Environment and Natural Resources Office -Solid Waste Management Division and the solid waste collectors are related in performing their responsibilities on managing waste collection system.