ecowaste coalition

The Ecological Waste Coalition of the Philippines (EcoWaste Coalition) is a public interest network of community, church, school, environmental and health groups that is committed to the pursuit of ecologically sustainable and socially just solutions to managing discards. The Coalition was formed in January 2000, six months after the passage of the Clean Air Act that imposes a historic national ban on waste incineration.

The EcoWaste Coalition work to achieve a Zero Waste society in the Philippines by 2020 and shall be guided by 5 key principles: (1) SIMPLE solutions, (2) LOCAL level, (3) INTEGRATED APPROACH to harness local talents and energies (4) ECONOMICALLY BENEFICIAL for the communities and (5) SUSTAINABLE MANNER.

The Ecowaste Coalition is also a participating group of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives / Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance (GAIA), Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) and International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN).

Since its inception, the Coalition has initiated and supported citizens’ campaigns towards environmental justice and upholding public health through zero waste resource management.

FOCUS CAMPAIGNS:

1. Sustainable Consumption and Lifestyle. The EcoWaste Coalition provides the public through fora and mass media timely eco-advisories to guide them in making ecological choices and practices in commemorating religious, cultural or social events that are normally characterized by crass commercialism, wastefulness and pollution.
2. Reduction of volume and toxicity of solid waste. The EcoWaste Coalition assists different institutions and establishments to reduce the volume of generated waste as a crucial part of zero waste resource management. The Coalition also continued to engage manufacturers and industries to shift to eco-friendly and non-toxic materials for their products.
3. Closure of dumps/landfills and stopping toxic contamination. The EcoWaste Coalition through its Dumps/Landfill continued to engage and dialogue with stakeholders, participate in public hearings and join protest actions to press the authorities to close down the illegal dumpsites as mandated by the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. The Coalition also sensitized the public about the environmental and health implications of landfills and outmoded “collect dump” waste management system.
4. Public awareness on the hazards of waste burning. The EcoWaste Coalition through its Task Force Open Burning/ Incineration provides the public guides and possible alternatives to backyard burning, stopping the release of toxins in the environment and upholding the open burning prohibition under the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
5. Implemantation of incineration ban and opposing incinerators-in-disguise. The EcoWaste Coalition through its Task Force Open Burning/ Incineration stepped up its campaign to uphold the incineration ban under the Clean Air Act and continued to oppose incinerator technologies that are disguised on different names e.g. Pyrolysis, plasma arcs etc.
6. Stopping toxic waste trade. The EcoWaste Coalition is one with other civil society groups in opposing the Japan-Philippines Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) that will open the Philippines door to a long list of extremely hazardous and nuclear wastes from Japan, exacerbate toxics in the environment and undermining the efforts of different communities to achieve zero waste.
7. Promoting alternatives and encouraging the public and implementors to regulate/minimize the use of plastics and other disposable materials. The Task Force Plastics of the EcoWaste Coalition promoted the use of eco-friendly bags and containers to the public, highlighting the environmental impacts of palstics to health and environment and engaging different insitutions and establishments to minimize the use of single-use disposable plastics.

To view the EcoWaste Coalition blog, click here. To view their Multiply page, click here.