Apo Island in Negros Oriental has been recognized as the first "zero-waste" island barangay in the country.
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia-Pacific regional coordinator Froilan Grate made the recognition Friday, September 17, and called the island's success as "unique."
"We want to recognize Apo Island for their amazing work on their Zero Waste journey. We want to acknowledge their hard work and to encourage them to sustain it and do more," Grate said.
Located in Dauin town, Apo Island gained the recognition after adopting in 2020 various waste management systems and practices introduced by War On Waste (WOW) Negros Oriental, a network of non-government organizations, academics, and individuals advocating proper waste management.
Among the systems and practices implemented in the village include the conduct of information campaigns to inform households about proper waste segregation at source, implementation of door-to-door segregated waste collection system, use of composting methods and establishment of a decentralized Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) where organic wastes are composted and recyclables are aggregated for junk shop sale.
Aside from that, community members are also training on waste assessment and brand audits to identify waste composition and help design a waste management system that will work for the island.
Currently, Apo Island has seven waste workers and four MRFs. It has also implemented an ordinance regulating single-use plastics in the island.
"The community is proud of what they have achieved in their first year of adopting Zero Waste system and practices," Merci Ferrer, WOW Negros Oriental-Zero Waste Cities project manager, said.
However, despite efforts given by residents of the island, WOW lamented that they continue to face challenges caused by the inaction of its neighboring communities.
"Even if we keep the surroundings clean, because we live on an island, there are times when the strong winds and waves bring the trash from our neighboring towns and communities onto our shores," Mario Pascobello, a village leader, said.
"This is because our current comes from the northeast of the island. Sometimes, the garbage from those areas end up in our shoreline," he added.