The Context for the Information and Education and Public Involvement Component

Passi City is in the process of implementing a solid waste management system which includes the following components:

• sanitary landfill;
• waste recovery through the establishment of Materials Recovery Facility (MRFs) and composting (household level);
• collection of residual wastes including the promotion of segregation and the charging of waste fees at the household level in pilot areas; and,
• Creating awareness and improving the waste habits of the households and residents of Passi through information, education and public involvement activities.

Sanitary Landfill

The planned landfill will be situated in Brgy. Aglalana, majority of the residents are aware of the LGU’s plans and show no resistance to the plan to put up a sanitary landfill in their locality. Two hundred questionnaires have been administered to the residents of the barangay to determine the residents’ perceptions on the establishment of a sanitary landfill.

Waste Reduction

A material recovery facility with a total area of 800 sq.m. and storage area of 68.62 square meters is currently in place in Passi City. The MRF functions as a demonstration site for composting technologies and as buy back center for recyclable wastes. The composting facility has a shredder, worm beds, curing beds for compost, a nursery and trial plots for various crops and vegetables. At a designated corner, tin cans, empty bottles, plastic bottles, and scrap iron are weighed and stored. The MRF also serves as a training center for recycling technologies and for teaching farmers about composting methods.

There are only 9 private junk shops operating in the city. The residents have not yet fully appreciated the benefits of bringing wastes to the junk shops or to the MRF.The There is also little knowledge on what materials can be recycled, what materials are being bought by the larger junk traders in Ilo-ilo or by local manufacturers and at what prices.

Waste recovery through household and backyard composting is the main strategy planned for the recovery and diversion of bio-degradable materials. Pilot barangays where households can engage in composting have been identified and teaching demos on composting steps and process are being planned for housewives/mothers and house helpers.

Waste Collection

The waste collection system is planned to incorporate segregation at source. But this has not yet been widely practiced. Payment of garbage fees for waste collection service at the household level is being contemplated upon. Apparently, political reasons might hinder the implementation of this plan. Public discourse should be encouraged on the issue of the Polluter Pays 1.5. Based on the city’s long term Plan, Information, Education, and Communication activities are to be implemented to promote segregation and appropriate waste collection practices among the households covered by the collection system.

The GTZ-AHT Solid Waste Management Project for Local Government Units and the Local Government Unit plan to set up an IEC component which takes into consideration the different target audiences, the required messages and desired practices integrated with the other components of the solid waste management system. External determinants of target behaviors and desired practices in solid waste management need to be set in place before an IEC campaign can be established.

Key Informants Interview and Waste Behavior of Residents of Passi City

The Key Informants (KI) interview is a methodology which utilizes the use of structured interviews of persons in the community who are and have been directly involved in the implementation of the solid waste management program. The guided interview focuses on questions on the following topics:

1. the history of the establishment of the solid waste management program of the City;
2. current activities on waste management engaged in the by the key informant;
3. issues and problems in the implementation of the program; and, recommended solutions and future prospects

Summary Findings of Key Informants Interview

1. Littering if still a widespread habit among the residents of Passi City especially of cigarette butts. Itinerant traders and transients lack awareness of solid waste management practices and their negative attitudes contribute to the waste problem in the city.
2. Market vendors believe that since they are paying garbage fees government workers should do more than they are currently doing to improve the waste situation in the City. Consumers who buy products at the market just throw their garbage anywhere. This problem relates to ownership issues.
3. Households do not observe the regulated positioning of waste so that they are left uncollected by the garbage dump trucks. Recommended practices of waste set out are not being consistently oserved. Household owners do not have the time to cooperate in the program and often leave waste management in their households and establishments to helpers who do not observe the regulations. Regulation on waste set out is not observed by most of the households that wastes are scattered on the streets and scavenged by stray animals.
4. In general, residents do not practice the selling of their recyclable wastes to the junk shops.
5. General awareness of the public on the existence of an ordinance on solid waste management is not demonstrated. Taking the ordinance seriously by strictly observing rules and regulations is more of an exception rather than the norm.
6. There is no systematic program to inform and educate the people on responsible waste management practices; and training on waste management is provided to a limited number of city government workers and officials

Existing Resources for IEC Campaign

1. Public hearings and consultations which are normally conducted upon the implementation of new laws and ordinances.
2. “Recorida” is the use of mobile public announcement system
3. Meeting of the Parents Teachers Association (PTA)
4. The existence of a community television program “Talking Point” which is aired once a week.
5. “Bombo Radyo” in Iloilo and “Radyo ng Bayan” radio stations
6. The setting up of a “Waste Hotline” for residents of Passi City covered by the collection system.

Intermediaries of IEC Campaigns

Possible Intermediaries of IEC Campaigns are those groups or individuals who can assist in carrying the messages on solid waste management, discuss them with target audiences, motivate them to accept desired practices, and help the project implementers in sustaining positive actions. In Passi City, such intermediaries include:

• Extensionists of the City Agriculture Office
• Barangay Health Workers, Barangay Nutrition Scholars,
• Barangay Apostolic Councils and Women’s organizations
• Church-based individuals belonging to various churches (Catholics, Baptists, Mormons)
• Chair and members of the Environment Committee of the City Council
• Chair and members of the Clean and Green Committee
• Principals and teachers of public schools
• Employees of the City Health Office, and City Planning Office
• Students who are hired by the City Government during the school break April to May every year.

IEC Interventions and Strategies

The main approach and objective of a communication strategy are to create awareness, to increase knowledge, to develop positive attitudes about a promoted concept or practice, to build skills and capacities, and to mobilize the target audience to action and participation. The ultimate aim is to sustain positive environmental practices in the long term. The strategies that are to be implemented in achieving the IEC objectives consists of the following:

• Use of local and available technology involving low costs for the LGU such as the use of local intermediaries, already established institutions and groups as channels of communication
• The training of trainers on the solid waste management system to propagate the concepts at the local level and the development of standard modules that can be utilized by the trainers
• The use of participatory tools and methods at the lowest level, identified as the sitio level
• The integration of waste management in the school curriculum
• Focusing on young people such as high school and college students as intermediaries of communication
• Exploring the possibility of locally-initiated events with local significance and familiarity to the residents in campaigns

Target Audience and Content of IEC Messages

The succeeding table presents the identified target audiences or receivers of communications messages :

TARGET AUDIENCE AND CONTENT OF IEC MESSAGES

Target Audience	Topic/Content of IEC Messages
Residents of Brgy. Aglalana	The importance of establishing a sanitary landfill; mitigating measures in a sanitary landfill, the benefits to the community hosting the sanitary landfill; how is a community protected from the “perceived” negative consequences of having a landfill in the locality;
General public/residents of Passi City	No littering; there is a penalty imposed for violators of this regulation
Household heads of approximately 5,000 households in the urbanized barangays covered by the solid waste management system (3 barangays)	Rules and regulations on waste collection and set-out of garbage
Residents of area covered by system	The general provisions of the waste ordinance; what are punishable acts; and what are the fines and penalties imposed for violating the provisions of the ordinance;  the ill effects of burning of wastes and throwing of wastes into the river
Residents of areas covered by system	The list of names of the deputized environment enforcers and their tasks and functions.
Environment enforcers	What rules and regulations have to be strictly enforced and what are the sanctions imposed for  violation
Households in Simeon Aguilar St., and Panes St. that may take part in the pilot composting	Demonstration on household composting; steps and processes
Residents in 13 urbanizing barangays of Passi City	What are the benefits of brining recyclable materials to the junk shops or MRFs; what are recyclable materials and prices and where the buy back centers for recyclable materials are being located
Vendors at the public market including transients and “bolanteros” – itinerant traders of goods	No littering; placement of wastes in the appropriate bins, setting out of wastes only during collection time and not before or after; announcement of the schedule of collection of wastes; no burning of wastes and no throwing of wastes into the river: what are bio-degradable wastes; what are the color codes being used for bio-degradable and non-biodegradable wastes
Housewives and house-helpers	Segregation of wastes; the bringing of recyclable materials to the junk shops or MRFs, and the practice of household composting
Garbage collectors	What are residual wastes that they should collect
Bus, jeepney, and tricyle drivers	Passengers should notthrow their wastes outside public transport vehicles
Barangay Officials	What are waste reduction strategies of the City
Selected farmers	Steps and process of organic farming
Principals and public school teachers	Concepts and contents for the planned integration of solid waste management in the school curriculum.