QUEZON CITY — As parts of the country experience scorching temperatures amid the observance of the Fire Prevention Month, the waste and pollution watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition reminded the public that burning discards would be very dangerous, as well as blatantly illegal.
“The open burning of discards can worsen the air quality and cause destructive fires in our neighborhoods, while destroying valuable resources that are better reused, recycled or composted,” said Cris Luague, Jr., zero waste campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.
“Open burning releases hazardous chemicals into the air we breathe, including fine particles, heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants or POPS that would eventually contaminate the soil, water and even the food supply,” he explained. “The burning of grasses, leaves and other biodegradable waste, including farm waste, can yield major pollutants such as particulate matter.”
“Young children, the elderly and people with respiratory ailments and other medical conditions are most vulnerable to the harmful effects of these environmental pollutants, which can also affect pregnant women and the babies in their wombs,” he said.
Burning waste materials containing chlorine such as the ubiquitous election campaign tarpaulins made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic will lead to the formation and release of by-product dioxins and furans. These POPs are targeted for global reduction, if not elimination, under the Stockholm Convention.
For this reason, the said treaty gives priority to “the promotion of the recovery and recycling of waste and of substances generated” to prevent the creation and discharge of dioxins and other by-product POPS.
Other chemicals of concern resulting from the open burning of trash include particulate matter; arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury and other heavy metals; carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gases; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; volatile organic compounds; and formaldehyde.
Exposure to these chemicals may cause headaches, eye, throat and skin irritation, impaired respiratory functions, aggravated asthma and chronic bronchitis, heart attacks and even cancers, the EcoWaste Coalition warned.
Open burning, the group pointed out, is considered illegal. Two of the country’s major environmental laws, as well as local city and municipal ordinances, prohibit and punish open burning.
Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, includes the open burning of solid waste as a prohibited act punishable with a fine of P300 to P1,000 or imprisonment for one to 15 days, or both.
In 2021, the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), chaired by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), adopted Resolution No. 1468, “to strengthen the enforcement of the provisions of RA 9003 on open burning of municipal solid wastes, including agricultural wastes.”
Republic Act No. 8749, or the Clean Air Act of 1999, penalizes the burning of municipal waste with two years and one day to four years of imprisonment, and the burning of hazardous substances and wastes, as well as bio-medical waste, with four years and one day to six years of imprisonment.
Instead of engaging in open burning, open dumping and other polluting and unsustainable practices, the EcoWaste Coalition urged households, farms and all waste generators to apply the best practices in ecological waste management excluding incineration in keeping with the goals of RA 9003 and RA 8749.
Reference:
http://www.pops.int/
https://www.epa.gov/dioxin/dioxins-produced-backyard-burning
https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2001/ra_9003_2001.html
https://air.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/DAO-2000-81.pdf
https://nswmc.emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2021-NSWMC-Resolution-No.-1468-Series-of-2021-Reso-on-Open-Burning.pdf
