Solid waste is an environmental problem that has reached critical proportions that seek immediate attention from government at all levels. With a growing population and a rapidly increasing consumption coupled with increasing urbanization, three key trends characterize solid waste management issues in the Philippines – increase in sheer volume of waste generated; change in the quality or make-up of waste generated; and the waste disposal method. These trends have been evident as solid waste or ?basura? has been one of the most visible environmental priority, particularly in cities and urbanizing centers, over the past thirty years. Efforts have been taken to address the issue with promulgation of laws, local ordinances and designing specific programs for solid waste management. However, the impact of these efforts was mixed. In the late 1990?s it was acknowledged that efforts taken were not sufficient to respond to the growing waste problem. This has led to the enactment of Republic Act (RA) 9003, The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, which is deemed to be a broad based and comprehensive approach for solid waste management. The Act essentially covered the social, economic, technological, political and administrative dimensions of solid waste management. The social dimension of solid waste management involved the minimization of waste generation from the source; the economic dimension covered waste recycling; and the technology dimension discussed the effective and acceptable ways of waste disposal. Cutting across these three dimensions are political and administrative dimensions of waste minimization, recycling and disposal.

This philosophy is to be achieved by the following principles of reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery as means for minimizing and eventually managing the solid waste problem. A critical aspect of the legislation is in the definition of the roles of the primary actors responsible for the Act?s implementation. At the crux of defining the roles of the actors is the continuing emphasis that effective solid waste management begins at the household level where people should learn how to conserve resources. Consciousness on resource conservation should impel people to reduce the volume of waste generated coming from all sources i.e. industrial, commercial and respective household level.

According to sir Michael A. Bengwayan, All trees are key to survival. Trees do not only provide life for the people who breath fresh oxygen and by cleaning air of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, sulfuric oxide and other persistent greenhouse gasses (GHG) but also continue to ensure water supply, prevent soil erosion and lessen excessive water run-off, cut wind speed as wind break and prevent Urban Island phenomenon. This is exactly what trees are doing in Baguio City.

https://cordilleraecologicalcenter.wordpress.com/2018/01/22/a-position-paper-to-save-trees-in-baguio-city-michael-a-bengwayan/