Sulu Launches Waste Management Campaign

Photos released by the Sulu provincial government show the launching of the waste management campaign in Patikul town.

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 07, 2009) – Some 1,000 people attended the launching of a waste management campaign in Sulu province in the southern Philippines, officials said on Saturday.

Officials said the campaign dubbed as “Operation Maglanuh” was spearheaded by Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan in an effort to increase awareness and education on solid waste management.

Some 1,000 people from different schools, civic groups and government agencies in the province attended Thursday launching of the campaign, which was in partnership with the municipal governments of Jolo, Indanan and Patikul and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Sunny Abing, the provincial government spokesman, said Tan and the mayors of Jolo, Hussin Amin; Hussin Ahajan, of Indanan; and Kabir Hayudini, of Patikul led the ceremony. Local military commander Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban and US military Major Larry Daley also joined the launching of the Operation Maglanuh.

With the theme: “Basura Makamula, Maglanuh Magsama-sama, Magad ha dan sin Agama" (Garbage can harm, lets clean together, and follow the path of our faith),” Tan said the campaign is the best way to educate the locals on the importance of waste management.

He also urged residents to recycle waster materials, especially those non-degradable such as plastic bottles and jugs into flower pots for their backyards.

Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is also carried out to recover resources from it.

While recyling is the process of extracting resources or value from waste is generally referred to as recycling, meaning to recover or reuse the material. There are a number of different methods by which waste material is recycled: the raw materials may be extracted and reprocessed, or the calorific content of the waste may be converted to electricity.

Waste materials that are organic in nature, such as plant material, food scraps, and paper products, can be recycled using biological composting and digestion processes to decompose the organic matter.

The resulting organic material is then recycled as mulch or compost for agricultural or landscaping purposes. In addition, waste gas from the process, such as methane can be captured and used for generating electricity. The intention of biological processing in waste management is to control and accelerate the natural process of decomposition of organic matter.