Implementation and financing of solid waste management in the Philippines

Abstract

This report looks at the implementation and financing of solid waste management in the Philippines. It assesses how much it costs forty-one local government units (LGUs) around the country to provide solid waste management services. It also looks at how much revenue these LGUs, and other private waste contractors and operatives, get from supplying these services. The research was carried out in response to a growing solid waste management crisis in the Philippines and legislation that requires LGUs to change their practices. Its main aim was to get information to help LGUs properly finance and implement the government’s latest waste management policies and law. The report finds that there is generally a substantial “fiscal gap” between the amount of money needed for waste management and the amount of revenue obtained by LGUs from providing waste management services. However, when the total economic benefits of providing these services were considered (these included the revenues obtained by LGUs, earnings made by other parties and savings from avoided landfill costs), it was found that some LGUs enjoyed positive net benefits. If LGUs could exploit as many potential revenue streams as possible, they could narrow their SWM fiscal gap or even go ‘into the black’. The study highlights a number of possible strategies that could be used to improve the financing of solid waste management. These included finding alternatives to expensive private contractors and looking into recycling as a revenue-generating activity.