Stakeholder's dialogue [on biowaste reuse in Metro Manila, Philippines]

Two Stakeholder's Dialogues (SDs) on biowaste reuse in Metro Manila [Philippines] were conducted. The first, held at the beginning of the diagnostic study, seeked to determine 1) the important roles of the major stakeholders in the chain, 2) the key problems they encountered regarding solid waste management (SWM) and 3) the solutions to the problems identified. The second SD was done towards the end of the study and aimed to 1) present the findings of the local research team regarding biowaste reuse, 2) develop strategies to strengthen interaction among stakeholders and 3) formulate action plans to enhance biowaste reuse chain. A total of 99 and 41 stakeholders involved in SWM participated in the first and second SDs, respectively. The first SD elicited valuable information regarding the roles of the major stakeholders in the urban biowaste reuse chain. The actual roles for the group of waste generators, collectors and street sweepers are more or less defined. For the rest of the stakeholders, the functions are over lapping. Key problems that cropped up in the group discussion were related to: waste generation and collection, compost production, utilization and marketing, and implementation of the Republic Act 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000). Among the solutions offered to overcome the obstacles include aggressive information and education campaign on solid waste management (SWM); provision of technical and financial support to SWM projects and strong political will on the part of local government executives to strictly implement Republic Act 9003. Based on the presentation of the results of the biowaste diagnostic study, six thematic concerns were articulated in the second SD. These were related to the 1) generation, 2) segregation, and 3) collection of waste, 4) composting, 5) utilization of compost and 6) policy. Effective action plans to be developed to address the various problems of SWM in the biowaste reuse chain should include intensified and much improved information and education campaign, strict implementation of local ordinances, more emphasis on the positive socio-psychological benefits of proper SWM and improved technologies on biowaste handling and processing. Local government units into composting may also group themselves into a federation of compost producers and link their products with private entrepreneurs to improve the quality and marketing potential of their products.