Invest In Our Planet: 5R’s pushed in BukSU’s Earth Day event

MALAYBALAY CITY (OP-IPS) An environment official has urged university officials to adopt the 5Rs for responsible waste management during the Earth Day Celebration held at the Bukidnon State University – San Fernando campus.

The celebration, initiated by the campus management on April 22, 2022, focused on the theme “Invest in Our Planet” via Zoom application.

Ms. Jovelyn G. Oliverio, LPT, EnP, Ecosystems Management Specialist-I of DENR-PENRO Bukidnon, keynote speaker focused her sharing on the topic “Invest in Our Planet: Responsible Waste Management through 5R’s”.

She emphasized on the 5R’s, which stands for Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Recover, and Repair. She also focused on the significance of responsible solid waste management to the environment and to the health of human population.

Ms. Oliverio gave an overview of the solid waste management situation in the Philippines and the laws governing the matter.
 
“Mother Earth is clearly urging a call to action. Nature is suffering. Oceans filling with plastic and turning more acidic. Extreme heat, wildfires and floods, as well as a record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season, have affected millions of people. Even these days, we are still facing COVID-19, a worldwide health pandemic linked to the health of our ecosystem,” she said, quoting the United Nations.

She added that climate change, man-made changes to nature as well as crimes that disrupt biodiversity, such as deforestation, land-use change, intensified agriculture and livestock production or the growing illegal wildlife trade, could accelerate the speed of destruction of the planet. Mr. Michael M. Gimena, Environmental Monitoring Officer of DENR-Environmental Management Bureau Region-10, also explained the salient points of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. RA 9003 provided for an Ecological Solid Waste Management program, creating the necessary institutional mechanisms and incentives, declaring certain acts prohibited, providing penalties and appropriated funds for the purpose.

Gimena presented that that a comprehensive solid waste management employs mandatory segregation at source, provision of separate containers for each type of waste, segregated collection, materials recovery facility in every barangay, promotion of composting, recycling, information education, support to projects and programs and environmentally acceptable disposal facilities. 

A comprehensive solid waste management program, he added, also requires closure of all open and controlled dumpsites by 2006 and establishes a common waste treatment and disposal facilities. It also bans open burning. 

Members of the faculty, staff, and students of both the main and satellite campuses of BukSU attended the webinar.

The university also commemorated the Environment Month, by participating in a simultaneous tree planting activity organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) dubbed “Aksyon para sa natatanging mundo” on June 6, 2022 in Sitio Larapan, Kalasungay, Malaybalay City.  

The university has also designated its own environmental compliance liaison officer in March 2022 to help ensure the university’s proper compliance to RA 9003 and other environmental laws. (OP-IPS with a report from Edmond M. Celino of BukSU San Fernando Satellite Campus).