Ecological Solid Waste Management Act

State policy and objectives

The State adopts a systematic, comprehensive, and ecological solid waste management program that must ensure protection of public health and the environment. (Section 2)
The program must utilize environmentally sound methods that maximize utilization of valuable resources and encourage resource conservation and recovery. (Section 2)
The program must set guidelines and targets for solid waste avoidance and volume reduction through source reduction and waste minimization measures, including composting, recycling, re-use, recovery, green charcoal process, and others, before collection, treatment, and disposal in appropriate and environmentally sound facilities. (Section 2)
Solid waste management must exclude incineration as the disposal approach. (Section 2)
The program must ensure proper segregation, collection, transport, storage, treatment, and disposal through best environmental practice in ecological waste management. (Section 2)
The program must promote national research and development for improved solid waste management and resource conservation techniques, including improved methods of waste reduction, collection, separation, and recovery. (Section 2)
The program must encourage greater private sector participation in solid waste management. (Section 2)
The program must retain primary enforcement and responsibility with local government units (LGUs) while establishing cooperative efforts among the national government, other LGUs, non-government organizations, and the private sector. (Section 2)
The program must encourage cooperation and self-regulation among waste generators through market-based instruments. (Section 2)
The program must institutionalize public participation in national and local integrated, comprehensive, and ecological waste management programs. (Section 2)
The program must strengthen integration of ecological solid waste management and resource conservation and recovery topics in academic curricula of formal and non-formal education to promote environmental awareness and action. (Section 2)

Key definitions and core concepts

“Commission” refers to the National Solid Waste Management Commission. (Section 3(c))
“Department” refers to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). (Section 3(i))
“Secretary” refers to the Secretary of the Department. (Section 3(hh))
“Ecological solid waste management” is the systematic administration of activities providing for segregation at source, segregated transportation, storage, transfer, processing, treatment, and disposal of solid waste and other waste management activities that do not harm the environment. (Section 3(l))
“Solid waste” covers all discarded household, commercial, non-hazardous institutional and industrial waste, and street litters, and related materials defined in the Act’s definitions section, with exclusions stated in the same section. (Section 3(kk))
“Hazardous waste” means solid waste (or combination of solid wastes) that may cause or significantly contribute to increased mortality, serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness, or pose a substantial present or potential hazard when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of. (Section 3(p))
“Segregation” is separating different materials in solid waste to promote recycling and re-use and reduce volume for collection and disposal. (Section 3(ii))
“Segregation at source” is separation at the point of origin to promote recycling and re-use and reduce volume for collection and disposal. (Section 3(jj))
“Recycling” is treating used or waste materials through processes making them suitable for beneficial use, including transforming solid waste materials into new products that may serve as raw materials for other goods or services; the collection, segregation, and re-use of previously used packaging material is deemed recycling under the Act. (Section 3(bb))
“Resource recovery” is collecting, extracting, or recovering recyclable materials for recycling, generating energy, or producing a product suitable for beneficial use; resource recovery facilities exclude incineration. (Section 3(dd))
“Sanitary landfill” is a disposal site designed, constructed, operated, and maintained with engineering control over significant potential environmental impacts. (Section 3(ff))
“Open dump” is a disposal area where solid wastes are indiscriminately thrown or disposed of without due planning for environmental and health standards. (Section 3(t))
“Controlled dump” is a disposal site where solid waste is deposited according to minimum prescribed site operation standards. (Section 3(h))
“Materials recovery facility” includes a solid waste transfer station or sorting station, drop-off center, composting facility, and a recycling facility. (Section 3(r))
“Opportunity to recycle” requires providing collection places for source-separated recyclables (at or near disposal sites or other convenient locations), collection at least once a month from collection service customers, and public education and promotion. (Section 3(u))

Exclusions from “solid waste”

The term “solid waste” excludes wastes identified or listed as hazardous waste in solid, liquid, contained gaseous, or semisolid form that may increase mortality, cause serious or incapacitating reversible illness, or acute/chronic effects on health and other organisms. (Section 3(kk)(1))
The term “solid waste” excludes infectious waste from hospitals, including disposable items from patients suspected or diagnosed with communicable diseases requiring isolation, laboratory wastes such as pathological specimens, disposable fomites that may harbor or transmit pathogenic organisms, surgical operating room pathologic specimens and attendant disposable fomites, and similar disposable materials from outpatient areas and emergency rooms. (Section 3(kk)(2))
The term “solid waste” excludes wastes resulting from mining activities, including contaminated soil and debris. (Section 3(kk)(3))

Institutional mechanisms and duties

The Act establishes the National Solid Waste Management Commission under the Office of the President. (Section 4)
The Commission is composed of fourteen (14) government members and three (3) private sector members. (Section 4)
The government members are represented by the heads (ex officio) of: DENR, DILG, DOST, DPWH, DOH, DTI, DA, MMDA, League of provincial governors, League of city mayors, League of municipal mayors, Association of barangay councils, TESDA, and Philippine Information Agency. (Section 4)
The private sector members are represented by: one (1) NGO representative (principal purpose: promote recycling and protect air and water quality), one (1) representative from the recycling industry, and one (1) representative from the manufacturing or packaging industry. (Section 4)
NGO and industry representatives are nominated through a process designed by themselves and appointed by the President for a term of three (3) years, and they are appointed on the basis of integrity, high degree of professionalism, and distinguished environmental/resource management experience. (Section 4)
The Commission’s chairman is the Department Secretary, and the vice chairman is a private sector representative. (Section 4)
The Commission uses a secretariat headed by an executive director nominated by the Commission members and appointed by the chairman, and the DENR through the Environmental Management Bureau provides secretariat support. (Section 4)
The Commission must meet at least once a month, with a quorum being at least a majority of members, and the chairman (or vice chairman in his absence) presides. (Section 6)

Commission powers and national planning

The Commission oversees implementation of solid waste management plans and prescribes policies to achieve the Act’s objectives. (Section 5)
The Commission prepares the national solid waste management framework and develops model provincial, city, and municipal waste management plans to establish prototypes of required content and format. (Section 5)
The Commission approves local solid waste management plans in accordance with Commission rules and regulations and reviews and monitors implementation of local plans. (Section 5)
The Commission coordinates operations of provincial and city/municipal solid waste management boards at the local level. (Section 5)
The Commission assists LGUs in capability building for source reduction programs and in identification of markets for diverted materials through re-use, recycling, and composting and other environment-friendly methods. (Section 5)
The Commission develops a mechanism for the imposition of sanctions for violations of environmental rules and regulations, and it manages the Solid Waste Management Fund. (Section 5)
The Commission develops and prescribes procedures for issuance of appropriate permits and clearances, and it reviews incentives schemes to ensure relevance and efficiency in achieving Act objectives. (Section 5)
The Commission formulates education promotion and information campaign strategies. (Section 5)
The Commission establishes, after notice and hearing of the parties concerned, standards, criteria, guidelines, and formulas for tipping charges and rates to be charged by proponents operating and managing solid waste management facilities and technologies. (Section 5)
The Commission formulates and updates a list of non-environmentally acceptable materials, after consultation with concerned industries to ensure technological and economic viability. (Section 5)
The Commission proposes and adopts regulations requiring source separation and post-separation collection, including segregated collection, processing, marketing, and sale of organic and designated recyclable materials generated in each LGU. (Section 5)
The Commission studies and reviews siting/design/operation/maintenance criteria for solid waste management facilities and standards for promulgation and implementation of an integrated national framework. (Section 5)

Department powers, enforcement, and LGU role

The Department (DENR) chairs the Commission, prepares an annual National Solid Waste Management Status Report, and distributes information/education/communication materials. (Section 8)
The Department establishes methods and parameters for measuring waste reduction, collection, and disposal. (Section 8)
The Department provides technical and capability-building assistance to LGUs for development and implementation of local solid waste management plans and programs. (Section 8)
The Department recommends policies to eliminate barriers to waste reduction programs. (Section 8)
The Department exercises visitorial and enforcement powers to ensure strict compliance with the Act. (Section 8)
The Department issues rules and regulations to effectively implement the Act. (Section 8)
The Department or its authorized representative may access and copy records required under the Act; the Secretary or authorized representative may enter the premises of any generator, recycler, manufacturer, or other facilities to question employees or investigate facts and conditions necessary to determine violations or aid effective enforcement. (Section 9)
Visitorial powers do not extend to private dwelling places unless the visitorial power is judicially authorized. (Section 9)
LGUs are primarily responsible for implementation and enforcement within their jurisdictions pursuant to the Local Government Code. (Section 10)
LGUs must conduct segregation and collection at the barangay level for biodegradable, compostable, and reusable wastes. (Section 10)
LGUs must have municipalities or cities responsible for collection of non-recyclable materials and special wastes. (Section 10)

Solid waste management boards (provincial, city, municipal)

Every province must establish a Provincial Solid Waste Management Board chaired by the governor. (Section 11)
Provincial Board membership includes: all mayors of component cities/municipalities; one representative from the Sangguniang Panlalawigan; provincial health and/or general services officers as recommended by the governor; provincial ENRO; provincial engineer; congressional representatives from each district; NGO, recycling industry, manufacturing/packaging industry, and relevant technical/marketing expertise representatives from concerned government agencies. (Section 11)
The Provincial Board’s function includes developing a provincial plan by reviewing and integrating submitted city/municipal plans, ensuring complementarity and requisite components, and submitting the provincial plan to the Commission for approval. (Section 11)
The Provincial Board must oversee implementation of the Provincial Solid Waste Management Plan and review it every two (2) years or as the need arises for sustainability, viability, effectiveness, and relevance. (Section 11)
The Provincial Board must convene joint meetings of provincial, city, and municipal boards at least every quarter for integrating, synchronizing, monitoring, and evaluating development and implementation of the provincial plan. (Section 11)
The Provincial Board may allow clustering of LGUs to solve common solid waste management problems. (Section 11)
In Palawan, the Provincial Board is chaired by the chairperson of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development pursuant to Republic Act No. 7611. (Section 11)
In Metro Manila, the Board is chaired by the chairperson of the MMDA and includes: all component city/municipal mayors, and NGO/recycling/manufacturing/packaging representatives as specified. (Section 11)

City and municipal waste boards

Each city or municipality must form a City or Municipal Solid Waste Management Board responsible for preparing, submitting, and implementing a plan for safe and sanitary management of solid waste within its geographic and political coverage. (Section 12)
The Board is headed by the city/municipal mayor as chair, with members including: a representative from the Sangguniang Panlungsod/Sangguniang Bayan; President of the Association of Barangay Councils; Chairperson of the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation; NGO representative; recycling industry representative; manufacturing/packaging industry representative; and representatives of concerned government agencies with relevant technical and marketing expertise. (Section 12)
The City/Municipal Board must develop the City/Municipal Solid Waste Management Plan, integrate barangay strategies, and conduct consultations with community sectors in developing the plan. (Section 12)
The City/Municipal Board must monitor plan implementation in cooperation with the private sector and NGOs and must adopt revenue-generating measures for plan viability. (Section 12)
The City/Municipal Board must convene regular meetings for planning and coordinating barangay solid waste plan implementation and must review the plan every two (2) years or as the need arises. (Section 12)
The City/Municipal Board must develop implementation mechanics and guidelines, oversee implementation, recommend measures for franchise or build-operate-transfer agreements under Republic Act No. 6957, recommend pollution safeguards, and coordinate barangays. (Section 12)

National status report and national framework

The Department, in coordination with the DOH and other concerned agencies, must prepare a National Solid Waste Management Status Report within six (6) months after the Act’s effectivity. (Section 14)
Agencies must submit relevant data to the Department within three (3) months after the Act’s effectivity. (Section 14)
The National Status Report includes, among others: inventory of existing solid waste facilities; waste characterization and waste generation projections; geologic/hydrologic/climatic factors related to leachate, runoff, and ambient air quality; population density and growth; political/economic/organizational/financial/management problems; systems and techniques for waste reduction/re-use/recycling; available markets for recyclables; estimated collection/transport/marketing/disposal costs; and qualitative/quantitative information on LGU and generator solid waste management problems and activities. (Section 14)
The Department must review, update, and publish the Status Report every two (2) years or as the need arises after consultation with concerned agencies. (Section 14)
Within six (6) months from completion of the Status Report, the Commission must formulate and implement a National Solid Waste Management Framework with public participation. (Section 15)
The framework must include: evaluation and projections for national/provincial/municipal levels; identification of critical facilities and LGUs needing closer monitoring; characteristics of collection/storage/processing/disposal practices and facility locations; the waste diversion goal under Section 20; schedules for closure/upgrading of open and controlled dumps; technical closure/upgrading methods eliminating health hazards; profiles of waste sources; practical applications of environmentally sound waste minimization; technical/economic performance levels for practices protecting public health and the environment; appropriate facilities and conservation systems; recycling programs by material type; and venues for public participation. (Section 15)
The framework must include control levels and methods that, at minimum, protect groundwater and surface waters from leachate/runoff contamination, disease and epidemic prevention/control, prevention/control of offensive odor, and safety/aesthetics. (Section 15)
The framework must set minimum criteria for LGUs to define ecological solid waste management practices, including information for adequate location/design/construction of facilities with regional/geographic/demographic/climatic factors. (Section 15)
The framework must include the method and procedure for phaseout and eventual closure within eighteen (18) months from the Act’s effectivity for existing open dumps and/or sanitary landfills located within an aquifer, groundwater reservoir, or watershed area. (Section 15)

Local solid waste management plans

Every province, city, or municipality must prepare a 10-year solid waste management plan consistent with the National Framework through its local solid waste management boards. (Section 16)
LGU plans must provide for re-use, recycling, and composting of wastes generated within the LGU jurisdiction and must emphasize implementation of all feasible re-use, recycling, and composting programs. (Section 16)
LGU plans must identify landfill and transformation capacity needed for wastes that cannot be re-used, recycled, or composted. (Section 16)
LGU plans must contain all components required under Section 17 and a timetable for implementation aligned with the National Framework and provisions of the Act. (Section 16)
LGU plans must be reviewed and updated every year by the provincial/city/municipal solid waste management board. (Section 16)
LGUs that considered alternatives to comply with Section 37 and cannot utilize such alternatives must include in the plan a timetable/schedule of compliance with remedial measures and eventual compliance. (Section 16)
All LGU plans must be submitted to and approved by the Commission, consistent with the national framework and Act policies, except in Palawan, where local plans are approved by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development pursuant to Republic Act No. 7611. (Section 16)

Required plan components

LGU plans must include, among other components: city/municipal profile, including population estimates/projection for a 10-year period, land use centers, dump sites/landfills/solid waste facilities, and proposed disposal and facility sites. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include a map/illustration of residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural areas, dump sites/landfills, and proposed disposal/facility sites. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include waste characterization, identifying constituent materials by volume, percentage in weight, or volumetric equivalent, material type, and source of generation, and future revisions must reflect constituent materials disposed of at permitted facilities. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include collection and transfer provisions with barangay coverage and require 100% collection efficiency from residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural sources where necessary, supported by strategies on containers/receptacles, segregation for re-use/recycling/composting, hauling/transfer systems, barangay ordinances, and trained workers. (Section 17)
LGU plans must specify methods and systems for transfer from collection points to solid waste management facilities. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include processing methods and required facilities, including intermediate treatment facilities for composting, recycling, conversion, and other waste processing systems, conforming with internationally acceptable standards and other laws and regulations. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include a source reduction program and schedule showing methods to reduce solid waste disposed in accordance with diversion requirements under Section 20, including strategies, measures, resources, types of wastes to be reduced, methods to determine diversion categories, and required new/expanded facilities. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include evaluation and identification of rate structures and fees and other source reduction strategies and economic incentives under Section 45 to reduce non-recyclable materials, replace disposable with reusable products, reduce packaging, and increase material use efficiency. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include a recycling component with a program and implementation schedule to reduce solid waste disposed in accordance with Section 20, including materials to be recycled, methods to determine diversion categories, and required facilities. (Section 17)
LGUs may determine and grant a price preference to encourage procurement of recycled products, and recycling strategies must account for existing persons engaged in recycling services before the Act’s effectivity and must include a five-year strategy for collecting/processing/marketing/selling designated recyclable materials. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include proposed recommendations for building ordinance revisions requiring newly constructed or altered buildings to contain storage space/devices to facilitate source separation and storage of designated recyclables, including specialized storage containers and separate chutes for multi-family dwellings. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include a composting component with a program and schedule, including types of composted materials, methods for determining composting diversion categories, and required facilities, plus potential market development and price preference for composted products. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include solid waste facility capacity and final disposal, projecting disposal capacity needed after diversion programs and accounting for permitted facilities and secured disposal capacity through inter-LGU or enterprise agreements, and must identify existing and prospective disposal sites on the basis of internationally accepted standards and the guidelines under Sections 41 and 42. (Section 17)
LGU plans must prohibit open dump sites as final disposal sites and require provisions for closure or phaseout of existing open dumps within the period specified under the framework and pursuant to Section 37, and must develop/operate sanitary landfills for municipal solid and eventually residual wastes in line with guidelines under Sections 40 and 41. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include education and public information describing how the LGU educates citizens about source reduction, recycling, and composting, with dissemination through print/broadcast media and other local government agencies, and must ensure that DECS and CHED ensure waste management is incorporated in curricula for primary, secondary, and college students. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include a special waste component for special wastes/household hazardous wastes handling and disposal practices and programs to ensure proper handling, re-use, and long-term disposal of special wastes. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include a resource requirement and funding component describing project costs, revenues, and revenue sources; required equipment/technology; uses for resource requirements; plans for generating funds; and how resource requirements will be sourced (including fees, grants, donations, and local funding) as a basis for incentives under Section 45. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include privatization measures identifying specific projects/components that may be offered for private sector investment activity and must establish incentives for private sector involvement in consonance with Section 45 and other laws and regulations. (Section 17)
LGU plans must include an incentive program providing for incentives, cash or otherwise, encouraging participation of concerned sectors. (Section 17)

Owner and operator responsibility; waste characterization role

Responsibility for compliance with the Act’s standards rests with the owner and/or operator; if the operator is specifically designated, the operator has primary responsibility for compliance, but the owner retains duty to take all reasonable steps to assure compliance with standards and assigned conditions. (Section 18)
When title to a disposal is transferred, the new owner must be notified by the previous owner of the Act’s standards and assigned compliance conditions. (Section 18)
The Department, in coordination with LGUs, must establish guidelines for accurate waste characterization, including determining compatibility with containment features and whether wastes must be managed as hazardous wastes under Republic Act No. 6969. (Section 19)

Mandatory waste diversion requirement

Each LGU plan must include an implementation schedule showing that within five (5) years after the Act’s effectivity, the LGU shall divert at least 25% of all solid waste from waste disposal facilities through re-use, recycling, and composting, and other resource recovery activities. (Section 20)
The waste diversion goals must be increased every three (3) years thereafter. (Section 20)
Implementing re-use, recycling, and composting activities designed to exceed the goal is allowed. (Section 20)

Segregation at source and storage standards

LGUs must evaluate alternative roles for the public and private sectors in providing collection services and choose the collection system or combination that best meets needs, with segregation primarily conducted at the source for household, institutional, industrial, commercial, and agricultural sources. (Section 21)
Segregation must conform to categories provided in Section 22. (Section 21)
For premises containing six (6) or more residential units, LGUs must promulgate regulations requiring the owner or person in charge to: (a) provide residents a designated area and containers to accumulate source-separated recyclable materials for collection by the municipality or private center; and (b) notify occupants of Act requirements and applicable regulations. (Section 21)
Segregation and storage pending collection must follow minimum standards: there must be a separate container for each type of waste from all sources, with the Act providing an exception for bulky waste based on placement feasibility. (Section 22)