By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net
THE PHILIPPINES’ garbage disposal problem is the main focus of a thesis created by a Filipino scientist who studied in Australia.
Dr. Aylen Ramos, one of the recent members of the Department of Science and Technology’s Balik Scientist program, is offering to the Philippine government and local government units a software called “Computer-Aided Tool for Sighting Sanitary Landfills” or CATSSAL, which she developed as a thesis for her postgraduate degree in environmental engineering from the Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.
In an interview with INQUIRER.net, Ramos, who is currently the laboratory manager in the chemistry department of the New Jersey City University in the US, said that the software she developed aims to assist government planners in locating landfills most applicable for the environment and any nearby communities.
She said she has developed and tested the software with the local government units in Batangas and Baguio in the last four years and showed significant effects on garbage disposal.
Ramos explained that a landfill is different from an open garbage dump wherein the landfill is properly dug up and closed with soil to avoid air pollution and scavenging while the latter is a large hole with garbage only being dumped into it and not being closed.
“My idea was to help the government in effectively finding a place where they could dig a proper landfill that will minimize pollution in the immediate populace,” Ramos said.
Ramos said that CATSSAL is divided into three modules, the first being an initial exclusionary screening of potential sites based socio-political concerns. The second module focuses on financial evaluation that indicates the cost to government of operating on a particular site. The third is a more expanded public acceptance analysis that indicates how well a landfill may satisfy longterm public concerns.
The criteria that will be inputted in CATSSAL will be based on the collected data of a landfill sighting team, usually officers sent out by the LGU concerned, the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Ramos reiterated, however, that the CATSSAL is not a one-off solution to identify prospective landfills and is instead a tool to give government officers a way to gauge the effects of a landfill.
Ramos, who is returning to the US soon, said that she hopes the government would take notice of the application she developed. “It took me five years to develop this but I’m giving it to the government for free.”
June 27th, 2007 at 8:50 am
[...] Inside Science: Filipino scientist develops landfill identification software [...]
June 27th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
They should develop a cheap portable equipment that would determine if the garbage thrown are segregated between biodegradables, non-biodegradables, bottles, plastics etc. so that an efficient system and policy will be made so as the people will be forced to segregate their garbage or else these will not be collected at all.
As an incentive, people who throw their garbage will be reimbursed through tax deductions depending on the weight of recyclables they throw away.
Would this not be a far better system?
July 3rd, 2007 at 11:56 am
I agree with Kabayan. The ordinary folks need to have some sort of incentive or reward para ma-engganyo sila or punishment para mapilitan sila mag-segregate. Yeah, we all know segragation helps in garbage disposal etc., pero di naman nila nakikita o di naman sila direktang naapektuhan kung mag-segragate man o hindi.
July 5th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Salamat Sheryl
I once had an experience with a local backyard garbage problem. Because of the flies that now deluged on our home and the foul smell assaulting our senses, I decided to segregate the garbage. I put one ordinary sack for:
1. Bottles
2. Hard Plastics
3. Cans and metals
4. Plastic bags and cellophanes
5. Wood
I nailed these sacks on a propped up horizontal piece of wooden plank.
Finally a compost pit for the bio-degradables which I put near a garden.
The result was that only 5% of the “yucky” part of the mountain of garbage was left which I promptly dumped in a compost pit.
Now its clean and the recyclables can be sold while the bio-degradables became excellent fertilizer for my garden. No more flies, no more foul smell, and less danger from dangerous diseases.
I discovered that most of the garbage was actually EMPTY SPACE created by the cans and bottles. The large mountain of waste was actually an illusion created by the bottles’ and cans’ internal empty space.
I thought that if this system be integrated in our city garbage disposal and recycling system we will have a more efficient and even profitable way of disposing and even harnessing waste. We can also have organic fertilizers to boot.
Those in government position to do this , please think about this and ACT on it!
Fellow citizens, try it out, it will be worth your while.