Recycling, composting and gardening

By Ike V. Señeres

Recycling, composting and gardening are all parts of the same value chain that all communities should “operationalize” everywhere, all the time, and all over the country. I should say wherever there is there is waste and wherever there is hunger, but these two are actually everywhere too, and are present all the time too! I should also say that it sounds like it is easier said than done, but that is not true either, because it is not too difficult to do, and it could be one everywhere, from Mavulis island in Batanes, to Saluag island in Sulo, from Forbes Park in Makati City to Payatas Dumpsite in Quezon City. Recycling starts with the segregation of biodegradables and non-biodegradables. For the most part, the latter has commercial values when sold as paper, plastic and metals. The biodegradables generally do not have commercial value except when these are converted into fertilizers. And that is where composting comes in. Composting could be done with or without earthworms, but doing it with the latter has some added advantages, such as the production of vermicast or worm castings. Depending on its quality, some waste food may be used as hog feed, but that is usually not advisable because of health reasons. Gardening becomes easier and cheaper with the use of organic fertilizers that are produced through composting. If you need help in doing this value chain, I can assist you.

 

Lack of importer’s information in product packaging

Perhaps not everyone of us would really care, but I know that there are many patriotic Filipinos who would really want to know the countries of origins of the products that they are buying, for their own reasons. More often than not however, they would like to know where the product is made, so that they could decide to buy the product or not. The bad news is, there are hundreds, if not thousands of products out in the market that are not properly labelled, such that consumers do not have a way of knowing where those products are coming from. The good news is, there is a law that requires importers and manufacturers to place the required information in their packaging, including its country of origin. Although the Food, Drug and Cosmetics act mandates the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to enforce the said law, its jurisdiction does not include all other products that could not be classified as foods, drugs and cosmetics. Presumably, everything that could not fall under these three categories would fall under the jurisdiction of the DTI. Given the apparent overlaps between the jurisdictions of the FDA and the DTI, how are they coordinating their actions between the three of them? And how would consumers which of the two to go to in case of complaints? And where could we see a running record of compliance? And where can we find a list of our own homegrown products, just in case our own patriotism would inspire us to buy local?

 

Let’s use our own native fabrics for our uniforms

Why did Mahatma Gandhi spin his own cotton fabrics? The answer to that might appear to be shallow, but there are actually very deep reasons behind his actions. Firstly, Gandhi was advocating self-reliance. During that time, the British colonists had disrupted India’s textile industry, making them reliant on imported fabrics. He also wanted to reduce all dependence on imported goods, not just textiles. Secondly, he was advocating economic empowerment. He believed that spinning cotton could provide incomes for the poor, especially women in the rural areas. Thirdly, he was advocating a form of non-violent protests. He believed that making and wearing local fabrics was a symbol of peaceful resistance against British colonialism, it was also a way to reject British goods and show pride in Indian culture and tradition. Here in the Philippines, we have an edge over Gandhi because we already have R.A. 9242, a law that mandates the use of Philippine tropical fabrics for the manufacturing of uniforms for all employees of government agencies, presumably including military and police personnel as well. The bad news is, we seem to be too far away from its full implementation. The good news is, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has already stepped into the picture, and has used its authority to ensure compliance. But how do we know the progress of its enforcement? Perhaps the CSC should have a computerized system that will report the status of compliance by all agencies?