NEWS RELEASE
April 21, 2010
EARTH DAY PRESCRIPTION: SEGREGATE WASTE
Envi-health group warns of hazardous wastes in bins, less vote to waste-generating candidates
What are you doing for Earth Day? Envi-health group, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA) poses this question while appealing to the public to start waste segregation today as a gift to Mother Earth this Earth Day and beyond. They further warned that not all hazardous wastes come in big packages citing batteries, fluorescent lamps and broken thermometers as “small but terribly hazardous wastes”.
According to Cristina Parungao, HCWH-SEA Program Officer for Promotions of Best Hospital Practices, it’s a simple memory and color coding game. Remember, Green for biodegradable wastes (kitchen and yard wastes) and Black for non-biodegradable and recyclable wastes.
For health care facilities, you add red for sharps and pressurized containers, orange for radioactive waste, yellow for infectious and pathological waste and yellow with black band for chemical waste.
Unlike hospitals who are mandated to follow waste segregation within their facilities, other establishments and households do not seem bound to follow proper waste segregation inspite of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003).
The Act requires mandatory segregation of waste with the local government unit (LGU) as primarily responsible for implementation. Segregation must be conducted at the source to include household, institutional, industrial, commercial and agricultural sources.
“However this is not followed in schools, offices and LGUs,” Parungao pointed out.
“The environmental and health impacts of waste segregation must never be underestimated. Imagine if you will throw away batteries that contain lead or broken thermometers with spilled mercury in your regular trash bins. These are sent to landfills where the lead and mercury may either find their way into the water system or pose greater threat to waste pickers,” she exclaimed. “This is both hazardous to the environment and the public health.”
“Thus we encourage all establishments especially the LGUs to implement waste segregation thru the Materials Recovery Facility (MRFs). The MRFs either in the barangay or municipal level would know where hazardous wastes will be sent for treatment.”
Waste segregation to waste reduction
As early as 2001, World Bank (WB) Philippine Environment Monitor estimated that the annual waste generation of 10 million tons is expected to increase to 40% at the end of the decade.
“Proper waste segregation can bring down the total number of wastes collected,” Parungao pointed out. “Simple check of trash cans around the city and you will notice that majority of the items that you find in trash bags are bottles, boxes, and food containers which may be reused or recycled. Kitchen wastes on the other hand are better off composted.”
The country does not fare well when it comes to recycling. In 2001, while Singapore recycled 44.4% of their solid waste, Philippines recycled and reused only 12%. (UNEP)
Although waste segregation is one solution it is not the end-all to all problems. The group likewise encourages reduction at source, re-use, recycling and composting.
The group cited St. Paul Hospitals in Cavite and Tuguegarao for their recycling and composting efforts within their health care facilities. Through these, the hospitals have fewer waste generated, less expense on waste collection and higher savings. The hospitals likewise are enjoying their bio-kita or earnings from wastes.
In 2009 alone, St. Paul Hospital Cavite earned Php40,000 from recycling wastes. While the hospital in Tuguegarao earns Php3,500 to 5,000 per month.
Other hospitals in the country and outside the country have done a fare share of contribution to save the earth (www.noharm.org/earthday).
“Municipalities, schools and other establishments may very well use these examples as model,” Parungao said. “Waste segregation will decrease the volume of waste thus waste pickers will only need to collect residuals.”
Color coding your candidate
The group likewise appeals to candidates to try minimizing their trash during campaign sorties. “While we are at color coding, remember that green posters and ribbons are the work of whoever is using that color, red to the red colored candidate and so on.”
“To the candidates we appeal, while you love your campaign color, please try to minimize your waste. One colored trash may be one less vote,” they warned.
HCWH is an international coalition of more than 470 organizations in 52 countries, working to transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. For more information on HCWH-SEA, see www.noharm.org.ph.
Sonia G. Astudillo, +63 918 9182369, sonia@hcwh.org
Cristina Parungao, +63 917 8800227; cris@hcwh.org
Monday, April 26, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
PROPER WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR SAFER WATER
NEWS RELEASE
March 23, 2010
PROPER WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR SAFER WATER
Baguio City – Just in time with the World Water Day celebration, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA) warns that water is the biggest victim of all improper waste management practices in the health care setting.
In the regional conference on mercury phase-out and proper health care waste management for the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Cristina Parungao, HCWH-SEA Program Officer for Promotions of Best Practices, cited indiscriminate dumping of chemicals on hospital drains, sewage systems and even canals combined with improper disposal of infectious wastes as factors that can worsen the water crisis faced worldwide.
“Imagine dumping all these chemicals from hospitals where they will go directly to our water system. Without the health care sector knowing it, they are causing severe health problems instead of curing it,” Parungao said.
A recent study showed that pollution in the water system causes the feminization of male fish or for the male fish to have both male and female attributes. The “intersex” male fish produces immature female eggs and have reduced rate of testicular development.
“The problem is that these chemicals are thrown by the hospitals without first treating them,” Parunago pointed out.
The group is calling all hospitals to be responsible in the disposal of their chemicals by adapting waste water treatment or getting the services of a treatment facility that could do it for them. The process will remove wastewater of physical, biological and chemical contaminants thus making it safe for discharge or reuse back into the environment.
Some of the toxic chemicals used in the health care setting are methylacrylate, xylene, organic solvents, formaldehyde and cleaning and sterilizing compounds such as ethylene oxide, sodium hypochlorite, glutaraldehyde, and phenols.
“Most of these chemicals like glutaraldehyde are already banned but are still prevalent in many health care facilities in the country,” Parungao commented.
“Add in broken thermometers, spilled mercury and throwing of infectious wastes in regular dustbins that are sent to landfills and open dumps. Garbage scavengers are automatically exposed to danger. But worst, these will all find their way onto the soil and into the water,” said Parungao.
The group is likewise pushing for the phase-out of mercury devices in all Philippine health care facilities and institutions and working with concerned government agencies in setting-up a safe intermediate storage for the phased-out devices.
A 2009 research conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) concluded that clean water supply in the Philippines are fast deteriorating with rapid urbanization and that only about 33 per cent of river systems are still suitable as clean and safe supply source of water and up to 58 per cent of the country’s groundwater are now contaminated.
The annual freshwater availability per capita is only 1,907 m3 compared to Asian and world averages of 3,669 m3/person and 7,045 m3/person, respectively. (1)
“Although not the biggest contributor to water pollution, the health care sector can do a lot in helping provide cleaner water by observing good practices within their facilities,” Parungao added.
In 2008, HCWH-SEA conducted a Hospital Waste Assessment Project (HWAP) in 7 Baguio hospitals. The aim was to close the gap in the City’s Solid Waste Management Plan, improve the health care waste systems and procedure of the hospitals and enable the local government of the City and the regional office of the Department of Health (DoH) to develop a monitoring system on health care waste management for Baguio and for the whole CAR.
The group recommends that hospitals treat their infectious wastes before disposing them.
“With the water crisis that the country and the rest of the world is facing, health care workers may start by conserving water in their facilities, doing their best not to contaminate what is left of our precious water and being more responsible by making sure nothing harmful stays and comes out of their facilities,” said Parungao.
World statistics show that 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water while an estimated 2.5 billion people have no access to proper sanitation and more than 5 million people die each year from water-related diseases, most victims are children under the age of five. This is equivalent to one child dying every 15 seconds. (2) In Asia, one in five Asians does not have access to safe water supply and one in two does not have access to improved sanitation. One in three Asians still has to walk at least 200 meters to fetch drinking water. (3)
The theme for 2010 World Water Day is Clean Water for a Healthy World. The overall goal is to raise the profile of water quality at the political level.
“This is where the Green Health Covenant (http://GreenHealthCovenant.multiply.com) comes in. In the Covenant, the health care sector is enjoining the presidentiables and other local candidates to be supportive of the green health care agenda.”
To date, the Covenant has more than 1,000 signatories and one presidential candidate has expressed 101% support to it.
HCWH is an international coalition of more than 470 organizations in 52 countries, working to transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. For more information on HCWH-SEA, see www.noharm.org.ph.
Sonia G. Astudillo, +63 918 9182369, sonia@hcwh.org
Cristina Parungao, +63 917 8800227; cris@hcwh.org
1 World Bank, PEM 2004
2 Source: United Nations and WHO
3 Source: ADB
March 23, 2010
PROPER WASTE MANAGEMENT FOR SAFER WATER
Baguio City – Just in time with the World Water Day celebration, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA) warns that water is the biggest victim of all improper waste management practices in the health care setting.
In the regional conference on mercury phase-out and proper health care waste management for the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Cristina Parungao, HCWH-SEA Program Officer for Promotions of Best Practices, cited indiscriminate dumping of chemicals on hospital drains, sewage systems and even canals combined with improper disposal of infectious wastes as factors that can worsen the water crisis faced worldwide.
“Imagine dumping all these chemicals from hospitals where they will go directly to our water system. Without the health care sector knowing it, they are causing severe health problems instead of curing it,” Parungao said.
A recent study showed that pollution in the water system causes the feminization of male fish or for the male fish to have both male and female attributes. The “intersex” male fish produces immature female eggs and have reduced rate of testicular development.
“The problem is that these chemicals are thrown by the hospitals without first treating them,” Parunago pointed out.
The group is calling all hospitals to be responsible in the disposal of their chemicals by adapting waste water treatment or getting the services of a treatment facility that could do it for them. The process will remove wastewater of physical, biological and chemical contaminants thus making it safe for discharge or reuse back into the environment.
Some of the toxic chemicals used in the health care setting are methylacrylate, xylene, organic solvents, formaldehyde and cleaning and sterilizing compounds such as ethylene oxide, sodium hypochlorite, glutaraldehyde, and phenols.
“Most of these chemicals like glutaraldehyde are already banned but are still prevalent in many health care facilities in the country,” Parungao commented.
“Add in broken thermometers, spilled mercury and throwing of infectious wastes in regular dustbins that are sent to landfills and open dumps. Garbage scavengers are automatically exposed to danger. But worst, these will all find their way onto the soil and into the water,” said Parungao.
The group is likewise pushing for the phase-out of mercury devices in all Philippine health care facilities and institutions and working with concerned government agencies in setting-up a safe intermediate storage for the phased-out devices.
A 2009 research conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) concluded that clean water supply in the Philippines are fast deteriorating with rapid urbanization and that only about 33 per cent of river systems are still suitable as clean and safe supply source of water and up to 58 per cent of the country’s groundwater are now contaminated.
The annual freshwater availability per capita is only 1,907 m3 compared to Asian and world averages of 3,669 m3/person and 7,045 m3/person, respectively. (1)
“Although not the biggest contributor to water pollution, the health care sector can do a lot in helping provide cleaner water by observing good practices within their facilities,” Parungao added.
In 2008, HCWH-SEA conducted a Hospital Waste Assessment Project (HWAP) in 7 Baguio hospitals. The aim was to close the gap in the City’s Solid Waste Management Plan, improve the health care waste systems and procedure of the hospitals and enable the local government of the City and the regional office of the Department of Health (DoH) to develop a monitoring system on health care waste management for Baguio and for the whole CAR.
The group recommends that hospitals treat their infectious wastes before disposing them.
“With the water crisis that the country and the rest of the world is facing, health care workers may start by conserving water in their facilities, doing their best not to contaminate what is left of our precious water and being more responsible by making sure nothing harmful stays and comes out of their facilities,” said Parungao.
World statistics show that 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water while an estimated 2.5 billion people have no access to proper sanitation and more than 5 million people die each year from water-related diseases, most victims are children under the age of five. This is equivalent to one child dying every 15 seconds. (2) In Asia, one in five Asians does not have access to safe water supply and one in two does not have access to improved sanitation. One in three Asians still has to walk at least 200 meters to fetch drinking water. (3)
The theme for 2010 World Water Day is Clean Water for a Healthy World. The overall goal is to raise the profile of water quality at the political level.
“This is where the Green Health Covenant (http://GreenHealthCovenant.multiply.com) comes in. In the Covenant, the health care sector is enjoining the presidentiables and other local candidates to be supportive of the green health care agenda.”
To date, the Covenant has more than 1,000 signatories and one presidential candidate has expressed 101% support to it.
HCWH is an international coalition of more than 470 organizations in 52 countries, working to transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. For more information on HCWH-SEA, see www.noharm.org.ph.
Sonia G. Astudillo, +63 918 9182369, sonia@hcwh.org
Cristina Parungao, +63 917 8800227; cris@hcwh.org
1 World Bank, PEM 2004
2 Source: United Nations and WHO
3 Source: ADB
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