# data[].attributes.body
Brittanica. (n.d.) Electronic waste. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/technology/electronic-waste

Brittanica. (n.d.) Rain water harvesting system. Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/technology/rainwater-harvesting-system

Cavite Ecological Profile. (2020). Retrieved from: https://cavite.gov.ph/home/cavite-ecological-profile-2020/

Cavite Integrated Water Resource Management Master Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://seaknowledgebank.net/sites/default/files/1538111106_field_management_plan_2012%20Master%20Plan%28Final%29%20.pdf

Cavite quick facts. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://cavite.gov.ph/home/province/general-information/quick-facts/

Chandler, D. L. (2020, February 6). Simple, solar-powered water desalination. MIT News. Retrieved from: https://news.mit.edu/2020/passive-solar-powered-water-desalination-0207

National Energy Technology Laboratory. (n.d.). Plasma gasification. Retrieved from : https://netl.doe.gov/research/Coal/energy-systems/gasification/gasifipedia/westinghouse

PEMSEA. (2017). Cavite prepares for sustainable water management amidst growing population. Retrieved from: http://pemsea.org/news/cavite-prepares-sustainable-water-management-amidst-growing-population

PhilAtlas. (n.d.). Cavite. Retreived from: https://www.philatlas.com/luzon/r04a/cavite.html

Sacgal, J. (2021, October 17). As trash pile on the streets, residents of Cavite town scramble for solutions. Rappler. Retrieved from: https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/uncollected-trash-general-mariano-alvarez-cavite-scramble-for-solutions/

Sedigo, N. A. (2017). Cavite’s Impending Water Crisis: An Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.theorchardgolf.com/wpcontent/uploads/2017/04/12_2017PGCMC_Cavites-Impending-Water- Crisis_Prof-Sedigo.pdf

Sharma, A., Kumar, V., Shahzad, B. et al. Worldwide pesticide usage and its impacts on ecosystem. SN Appl. Sci. 1, 1446 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-019-1485-1

Socio-Economic Profile. (2015). Retrieved from: https://cavite.gov.ph/home/sepp-2015/

United Nations. (n.d.). The 17 goals. Retrieved from: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal12

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Nonpoint source: agriculture. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/nps/nonpoint-source-agriculture

Villanueva, R. (2021, July 6). Cavite garbage problem stalls Manila Bay rehab. Philstar. Retrieved from: https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/07/06/2110412/cavite-garbage-problem-stalls-manila-bay-rehab

Yang, A. (2021, July 5). Cavite governor seeks DENR help in putting up a sanitary landfill facility. Business world. Retrieved from: https://www.bworldonline.com/cavite-governor-seeks-denr-help-in-putting-up-a-sanitary-landfill-facility/

Zafar, S. (2021). Pyrolysis of municipal waste. BioEnergy Consult. Retrieved from: https://www.bioenergyconsult.com/pyrolysis-of-municipal-waste/

# data[].attributes.headline
UNSDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

# data[].attributes.subject
UNSDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

# data[].attributes.body
Goal: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Target:

Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse

# data[].attributes.body
Goal: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Target:

Substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity

# data[].attributes.body
http://pemsea.org/news/cavite-prepares-sustainable-water-management-amidst-growing-population

The province of Cavite considers the growing population as a potential threat to water supply, given that groundwater, through deep wells and springs, source a large part of the water that is supplied in the province. It was stated that in 2017, more than half of Cavite's groundwater has already been affected by salt water intrusion. In addition, the province also has a high incidence of renal disease, which is considered to be the highest in the Philippines, which is brought about by the presence of nitrate in water used for daily living. In addition, further contamination of groundwater may happen as the province has no sewage treatment plants and waste water commonly ends up in septic tanks then the waste water ends up into canals, nearby water sources, and then underground.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Provincial Government of Cavite recently hosted the Cavite Water Summit 2017 as part of ongoing efforts to address and manage the water situation in the province amidst a growing population. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) provided technical and financial support for the Summit.

Themed "Water Security for All: Pathways, Innovations and Outcomes", the event was a gathering that encouraged multi-stakeholder participation on Cavite's water demand management and increasing public awareness on the current status of water supply in the province. The event also saw the launching of Cavite's State of the Coasts (SOC) Report, which seeks to provide information on the changing social, economic and environmental conditions in the province. PEMSEA helped develop the SOC with financial support from the UNEP Global Nutrient Cycling Project.

"The partnership between PEMSEA and Cavite for more than a decade has resulted in a number of important milestones, one of which is the State of the Coasts Report," said PEMSEA Executive Director Stephen Adrian Ross. He noted that water management and security in Cavite is a "wicked problem" that has implications on food security, public health, economic development, quality of life, and, eventually, peace and order. Ross called for developing sustainable solutions with investment opportunities to meet the requirements of the province and to prevent shortages, which are forecast to surpass 51 million liters per day (MLD) by 2020 due to Cavite's growing population. He pledged PEMSEA's continuing assistance to the local government in identifying sustainable and integrated solutions.

"Water is going to be the most important ingredient for people to live a high quality of life," said Cavite Governor Crispin C. Remulla. He added that with a population poised to hit the 4.8 million mark by 2020, "water is our biggest problem right now." Because Cavite is at the critical stage of groundwater extraction, Remulla said that water management will be "the order of the day for Cavite to realize its vision of being a first class and world class province."

Gov. Remulla added that more than one half of Cavite's aquifers are severely depleted due to saltwater intrusion, and that the province has the highest incidence of renal disease in the Philippines, which may be connected to the concentration of nitrate in waters used for drinking and cooking purposes in the province.

The Summit also witnessed the signing of the Cavite Water Management Declaration, with commitments for promoting integrated water resources management to achieve sustainable water supply and sanitation over the next three years. The declaration supported Cavite's bid, as a member of the PEMSEA Network of Local Governments, to achieving the SDG 6 targets by improving governance and implementing management programs for efficient water use and conservation.

Other speakers at the Summit included Ms. Anabelle Cayabyab, Supervising Environmental Management Specialist of PG-ENRO, Dr. Christopher Cox, Program Officer of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Engr. Jorge Estioko, who delivered the keynote address on behalf of DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu.

The Cavite provincial government made various recommendations to ensure the sustainability of its water resources including rationalizing land use to protect groundwater recharge areas, conduct of groundwater monitoring, strengthening of water governance measures at the Provincial and Municipal levels and the introduction of rainwater harvesting technologies.

The first Cavite Water Summit was held in 2015 in partnership with Cavite State University and Cavite Green Coalition.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cavite prepares for sustainable water management amidst growing population

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Provincial Government of Cavite recently hosted the Cavite Water Summit 2017 as part of ongoing efforts to address and manage the water situation in the province amidst a growing population.

# data[].attributes.body
The province of Cavite or the "Historical capital of the city" is known for its rich and diverse culture and history, being one of the first provinces to fight against the spaniards and having many heroes hailing from here, hence being called the "cradle of heroes". It is also one of the fast developing provinces as it is just a few kilometers from Metro Manila, but it has not forgotten its roots as despite the growing number of development going on, the province have maintained the historic sites and history that was made here.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.bworldonline.com/cavite-governor-seeks-denr-help-in-putting-up-a-sanitary-landfill-facility/

Waste management is considered to be the main problem in Cavite as 21 out of 23 cities and municipalities do not have their own waste dump site. This leads to the pollution of the rivers in Cavite which also adds to the pollution in Manila Bay. There is approximately 2,000 tons of solid waste that are washed along the rivers of Cavite wherein 90% ends up in Manila Bay. It is said that the recent closure of the dumpsites in Cavite led to increased garbage in the rivers of the province.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cavite governor seeks DENR help in putting up a sanitary landfill facility - BusinessWorld Online

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CAVITE GOVERNOR Juanito Victor C. Remulla has sought help from the Environment department in building a sanitary landfill facility for the province, whose rivers contribute to the waste problem in Manila Bay.

# data[].attributes.body
Cavite is found at the southern part of Luzon, and is bounded by Metro Manila in the north, Laguna on the east, Batangas on the south, and the West Philippine Sea at its west.

Region: Region IV-A
Total Land Area: 1,426.06 km2
Capital City: Imus, Cavite
Number of Cities: 7
Number of Municipalities: 16
Number of Districts: 8

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image from: Cavite.gov (Population Growth rate in Cavite)

# data[].attributes.body
Governor: Juanito Victor C. Remulla
Vice-Governor: Jolo Revilla
Population: 4,344,829
Population Density: 3,045 persons/square kilometer
Number of Households: 1,088,936
Labor Force Population: 2,460,631
Literacy Rate: 99.66%

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Imgae from: PhilAtlas (Annual Income of Cavite)

# data[].attributes.body
The province of Cavite's economy is divided into three sectors, mainly the primary sector, secondary sector, and tertiary sector.

The primary sector consists of agriculture, fishing, and mining. 64,398square kilometers of Cavite's land area are considered to be agricultural lands. Most of this are from Districts 5-8. The major crops grown in Cavite include rice, corn, vegetables, and coffee.

The secondary sector consists of business or economic zones that transform raw materials into goods. There are a total of 17 operating economic zones within Cavite that are divided into manufacturing and IT centers.

The tertiary sector consists of the services offered and tourism in the province. Cavite is becoming more industrialized as more business are starting here, given that it is not far from the metro, and has lower cost of living. It is also considered as a well-known tourist spot, as it offers rich culture, history, cuisine, and numerous landmarks.

# data[].attributes.body
As of 2015, there are 85.7% of Cavitenos that are affiliated to the Roman Catholic Church. This is then followed by the 3.7% of Cavitenos that belong to the Iglesia ni Cristo.

# data[].attributes.body
As of 2015, Tagalog is the language that is used by most cavitenos, specifically 75.96% of the population.

# data[].attributes.body
Native Cavitenos or those who are originally from Cavite only account to 23.39% of the population that is currently residing in Cavite as of 2015. They are surpassed by Native Tagalogs who account for 43.06% of the population, making them the majority. Other ethnic groups that reside in Cavite include Bisaya, Waray, and Ilonggo.

# data[].attributes.body
Private Hospitals: 44
Public Hospitals: 12
Health Centers: 47
Public Schools/Insitutions: 523
Private Schools/Institutions: 891

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image from: Cavite.gov (Image of Aguinaldo Shrine)

# data[].attributes.body
Found in Kawit, Cavite, the historic house wherein General Emilio Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence against Spanish reign. This house is now a shrine and contains relics from these historic times of the Philippines.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image from: Cavite.gov (Image of Corregidor Island)

# data[].attributes.body
Found a few kilometers off of Manila bay, was one of the five islands that was of great importance during World War 2 as it served as a defense for Manila Bay. Now it is a tourist attraction for those who want to commemorate the battle that our countrymen fought.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image from: Tripadvisor (Image of Bonifacio Shrine)

# data[].attributes.body
Found in Indang, Cavite, this was where Andres Bonifacio's brother, Ciriaco Bonifacio was killed. This was also where Andres Bonifacio was caught.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image from: Sedigo, N. (2017) Water Consumption of Cities and Municipalities in Cavite in 2012

# data[].attributes.body
It is concluded that without province-wide wastewater treatment and collection and other alternative interventions will make Cavite experience a shortage in water. The total groundwater that is available (2012) is at 572 million liters/day plus 45MLD that is the surface water available for a total of 617 MLD is insufficient to provide for the projected 669 MLD that is used for domestic use in 2020. It was also estimated that the groundwater supply with only be enough until 2018. In addition, it is already estimated there is a widening gap between water supply and demand, due to increased extraction of ground water and saltwater intrusion, and that depletion of aquifers is at 50% or at critical levels in some areas.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.philstar.com/nation/2021/07/06/2110412/cavite-garbage-problem-stalls-manila-bay-rehab

The increasing amount of solid waste in Cavite rivers end up in Manila Bay thus adding to the already present pollution of the waters. It also ends up interfering with the rehabilitation process of Manila Bay, thus high ranking officials have planned to create a sanitary landfill to address the inter-related issues created by the poor waste management in Cavite.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Rhodina Villanueva - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines - The government is planning to put up a law-compliant sanitary landfill in Cavite to prevent the province's garbage problem from affecting the ongoing Manila Bay rehabilitation project, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu, chair of the Manila Bay Task Force, recently met with Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla and the local mayors to address issues on solid waste and water quality management in the province's six rivers.

During the meeting, DENR-Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) chief Nilo Tamoria identified these rivers as the Imus, Zapote, Rio Grande-Ylang-Ylang, Cañas, Labac and Maragondon.

"We cannot complete the rehabilitation of Manila Bay if we will not first solve the garbage problem in the province. There is a very big connection between the two," Cimatu said during the meeting at the Oasis Hotel in Imus.

Cimatu said the only way to solve the problem of Manila Bay is to first address the garbage issues and water quality of Cavite's water tributaries.

Remulla admitted that solid waste management is a major problem in Cavite, noting that 50 percent or 2,000 tons of solid waste per day ended up in rivers.

Of the 2,000 tons of garbage thrown into the rivers per day, 90 percent goes to Manila Bay.

Remulla said that of Cavite's 23 cities and municipalities, 21 have no capacity to put up their own solid waste facility due to lack of space or land.

He said he had appealed to the DENR to help the province set up a sanitary landfill.

Cimatu said the recent heavy downpour caused garbage from Cavite rivers to drift to Manila Bay.

He said the evident increase in the rivers' garbage volume could be attributed to the closure of all dumps in Cavite, in compliance with Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cavite garbage problem stalls Manila Bay rehab

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Rhodina Villanueva - The Philippine Star MANILA, Philippines - The government is planning to put up a law-compliant sanitary landfill in Cavite to prevent the province's garbage problem from affecting the ongoing Manila Bay rehabilitation project, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/uncollected-trash-general-mariano-alvarez-cavite-scramble-for-solutions/

It is not only the rivers that are getting polluted, but even cities and households are also feeling the effects of the continuous accumulation of solid waste. In GMA, Cavite quick solutions were made such as using empty lots to temporarily store solid waste and hauling trash to a different landfill, but these solutions are not addressing the root of the problem which is waste generation. In addition, these solutions will not last long as well, as empty lots would get filled up and hauling trash to different areas costs a lot of money.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The last time a garbage truck collected trash from Jonathan's* household was around a month ago. The situation is the same in the two houses his family owns in Poblacion 1 and Barangay Jose Elises in General Mariano Alvarez (GMA), a first-class municipality in Cavite.

Their household has been forced to store the garbage inside their properties, accumulating three sacks of trash so far.

SACKS of trash are stored inside the homes and backyards of GMA residents. Photos provided by residents of different barangays; used with permission

GMA residents share this headache. With the town's sanitary landfill hitting critical capacity, the entire waste management system of GMA has slowed to a crawl.

Though residents like Jonathan keep their trash at home, not everyone is willing to do so. Photos obtained by Rappler show garbage sacks piled up on top of each other outside the streets of various barangays.

GARBAGE sacks pile up outside the streets of various barangays in GMA, Cavite, on the morning of September 27. Photos provided by a barangay captain from GMA.

The photos were taken on the morning of September 27. Although the garbage shown here have since been collected, the same could not be said for all barangays in GMA.

Landfill undergoes closure

The issue of uncollected garbage starts in the GMA sanitary landfill located in Barangay Aldiano Olaes. Global Environment, Technologies and General Services (Gemtech) has been managing this since July 2019.

The firm submitted a letter to the local government unit (LGU) on September 14, 2021, warning that the sanitary landfill was nearing its capacity.

The company said it needed to proceed with an "abandonment and rehabilitation" plan. That means the closure of the sanitary landfill to prevent damage to the surrounding environment.

Gemtech informed the LGU that it would no longer be able to collect trash starting September 17.

Declaring a state of calamity

To resolve the issue, Mayor Maricel Echevarria-Torres, the municipal council, and the solid waste management board met with the landfill operator on September 17.

Gemtech ultimately allowed the LGU to haul additional trash into the sanitary landfill, but in a very limited capacity so as not to violate environmental laws.

The LGU also agreed to transfer their trash to another landfill as a short-term solution. The municipal environment office told Rappler on October 13 that they had chosen a landfill operated by Pilotage Trading and Construction in San Pedro, Laguna.

Gemtech's contract does not involve the hauling of trash. The GMA local government has three garbage trucks to do its own hauling. Seeing that this was not enough, Mayor Torres borrowed five additional trucks.

There are also plans to procure hauling services. The municipal environment office told Rappler on October 13 that they had found a hauling service that would only charge P7,000 per truck to haul up to 18 cubic meters of trash per trip.

If the town deposits 10 truckloads per day, the local government would spend P2.1 million per month, said Romeo Camacho, executive assistant at the mayor's office assigned to the municipal environment office, in a telephone interview.

Competitive bidding is required to procure such service. A negotiated procurement would expedite the procurement process down to a minimum of seven days, according to the municipal engineering office. But this procurement method is only allowed on certain conditions, like a declaration of a state of calamity.

The LGU took this route in 2013 during a similar crisis. It is trying to do the same in 2021. Mayor Torres and the municipal risk reduction management office submitted to the municipal council on September 27 a draft resolution to recommend a declaration of a state of calamity. The council endorsed it on October 4.

Mayor seeks supplementary fund

To finance the hauling of the garbage, the council approved a supplemental budget on October 7.

GMA spends P20 million annually for the management of the landfill, but the 2021 budget only allocated P10.5 million.

The LGU's practice for the past three years has been to supplement the budget during the second semester of the year by sourcing it from unexpended funds from the year before, Mayor Torres explained in an online interview.

This time, the funding requirement divided the mayor's office and municipal council.

Torres initially claimed that the council was blocking the funding. Vice Mayor Angela Paycana, the presiding officer of the local legislative body, denied this.

According to Paycana, Torres' request for additional funds underwent first reading in the municipal council and was referred to the finance committee on August 23.

The committee, which is composed of five opposition members, sought additional documents to endorse the mayor's request. Torres, however, told them to request the documents from the Commission of Audit (COA). In turn, COA informed them that their local government had not submitted the documents they were looking for.

Still, the municipal council approved an P11-million supplementary budget for the procurement of hauling services.

Increase in waste volume, land constraints

The councilors, however, expressed frustration over why the landfill had to close despite Gemtech's 10-year contract agreement with the local government, supposed to end in 2029 yet.

Gemtech, in a September 30 email response to Rappler's queries, explained that the land constraints in the landfill and the increase in waste generation amid the pandemic caused the sanitary landfill to reach a critical stage.

The company said it had been leasing from the local government a 1.2-hectare lot for P100,000 monthly since July 2019. However, at the start of the lease period, more than half of this lot was already being used for the old dumpsite of GMA.

Gemtech said they were left with only half a hectare of the land to utilize. There were initial plans to purchase additional three adjacent lots, but the pandemic had caused a shift in budgetary priorities, the firm added.

The ecological solid waste management act requires that sanitary landfills should be large enough to accommodate five years' volume of trash from the locality.

Gemtech also noted an average of 2.85% daily increase in generated waste from 2019 to 2020.

Rappler requested data for the amount of trash collected during 2019 and 2020, but Gemtech has not yet replied.

Rappler also sought the data from the municipal environment office, but the data they have is only from 2020 onwards. Gemtech did not start managing the landfill until July 2019. The office added that they had multiple haulers in 2019.

The COA, however, has a 2019 audit report which showed that 35,347 cubic meters of trash were dumped into the landfill from January to November 2019. The December receipt was not submitted to COA, resulting in the incomplete data.

Solutions start at home

As the local government scouts for a long-term solution, residents shoulder the brunt of the problem.

Barangays are mandated by the Local Government Code to facilitate waste collection, and they are doing interventions to reduce the amount of trash kept at home by residents. Barangay officials are advising residents to segregate their trash, so they could compost biodegradable waste.

There are also programs that give incentives, such as rice or cash, to residents when they segregate plastic waste. Barangays like San Gabriel and Gregoria de Jesus have also allocated lots to store garbage temporarily.

BARANGAY Gregoria de Jesus prepares a lot to be used as a material recovery facility. Photo from the local government of GMA

Initiatives also start at home. Those without an open lot for composting dispose of biodegradable waste on potted plants. Malou of Barangay Severino delas Alas shared that she even recycles plastic soaked from wet goods by drying it out and reusing it.

Not everyone seems to find the right solutions. One resident told Rappler that they had been burning their trash. The resident, who did not want to disclose which barangay he was from, said he burned small amounts of trash over time so his neighbors would not complain. Though it solves the problem of garbage in his house, burning of trash is a violation of Section 48 of the Solid Waste Management Act, which bans open burning of solid waste.

The issue in GMA is reflective of the bigger issue of solid waste management in Cavite. In July 2021, Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla said the province's top environmental problem is managing solid waste, with the laws giving the responsibility of waste management to towns and cities.

He said 21 out of the 23 cities and municipalities in Cavite do not have the capacity to put up their own solid waste facility due to land limitations. - Rappler.com
Jerome Sagcal is a Luzon-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship. *Interviewee requested that his real name not be used.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
As trash pile on the streets, residents of Cavite town scramble for solutions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The last time a garbage truck collected trash from Jonathan's* household was around a month ago. The situation is the same in the two houses his family owns in Poblacion 1 and Barangay Jose Elises in General Mariano Alvarez (GMA), a first-class municipality in Cavite.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image from: Cavite.gov (Volume of Residential and Market Waste in Cavite as of Dec. 2015)

# data[].attributes.body
Although this information is from 2015, it is expected that the volume of waste produced by the province of Cavite has increased due to the continuous population increase and the pandemic.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image from: Rappler (Garbage piled up from different areas in GMA, Cavite)

# data[].attributes.body
With the continued increase in population, it is expected that more waste would be generated and as long as no intervention is done, waste will continue to pile up and continue to pollute the province's rivers, cities, and even the ocean. Accumulation of trash will not only harm the environment, but it can also affect tourism, businesses, and even the health of the general public.

I think that it is important to address the issue of waste management as to prevent the further accumulation of trash in our cities and to prevent further pollution of our rivers and oceans. It is important that we consider where our trash ends up and not simply forget about it once we throw it away. We must be responsible consumers and see to it that even our trash ends up in the right place, as if not, it will come back to us one way or another. We must also be responsible producers and be mindful of the potential waste that we will create.

# data[].attributes.body
Water is necessary for humans in their daily lives, but with the depletion of groundwater and contamination of other water sources may put the province of Cavite in a water crisis. In addition to that, the continuous increase in population brought by migration, and further industrialization may also be a threat to sufficient and sustainable water resources, thus further increasing the need for proper water management. The province may have adequate water supply now, but if sustainable water management and sanitation is not sought for, the people of Cavite may experience a shortage in water supply.

I think that it is important to address this issue as water is indeed a vital resource not only for a person but for the community as well. Without water, we humans will not last long. Water may surround our country but taking it for granted will lead to detrimental effects. Having sustainable and clean sources of water should be a right given to the people, thus, the government and the people should strive towards having a sustainable water resource, and we as citizens, should also do our part such as saving water and not letting it go to waste.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image from: Constrofacilitator.com (Diagram of Rain Harvesting System)

# data[].attributes.body
The rainwater harvesting system is a technology that simply catches rain and stores it for later use. It could be in a form of rain barrels or have advancements such as pumps, tanks, and purification systems. The water collected is non-potable but it could be use for flushing, cleaning, and irrigation. If a purification system is present, then it could be used for human consumption. Cavite has a rainy season of May-October, and rain is also experienced during the dry season, thus rainwater is easily available. The collected water may have contaminants, be it from the  rain itself or the pipes that it passed through. Therefore water quality could be improved by the separation of the first flush of rainwater. In addition, the processes of flocculation, settlement, and bacterial skimming is advised to remove contaminants such as bacteria, organic material, and chemicals. Liquid alum solution could also be used so that water that is collected has its particles clump together for easier filtration. This improves any unfavorable color, turbidity, and aluminum from the water.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image from: BioEnergy Consult (Diagram of Pyrolysis)

# data[].attributes.body
Pyrolysis is an emerging technology that uses biomass thermal conversion. It is getting known throughout the world because it is highly efficient and eco-friendly. This technology allows people to convert municipal solid waste, agricultural residues, and trash such as used tires and non-recyclable plastic into green energy. The process of pyrolysis involves degrading of biomass in an anaerobic environment. It starts with the preparation and separation of municipal waste, sorting out glass, metals, and other inert materials, before it goes in a pyrolysis reactor for processing. High temperatures are needed thus an external heat source is needed to achieve the desired products. Synthetic gas, Bio oil, and Char is produced via the process of pyrolysis of municipal solid waste. In short, pyrolysis is a great way of producing products that can be used to generate heat, electricity, and chemicals simply by converting urban waste.

# data[].attributes.body
https://news.mit.edu/2020/passive-solar-powered-water-desalination-0207

Desalination is the removal of salts from seawater, brackish water, highly mineralized groundwater, and wastewater. The process results to water that can be used by humans either for consumption, irrigation, and others, from previously unusable water. Although the current desalination process has big environmental drawbacks, there is now an emerging improvement which is using the sun or solar power. In addition, it doesn’t  have the environmental drawbacks such as the accumulation of salts. It could provide around 1.5 gallons per hour in one square meter of solar collecting area. It could be potentially be used in coastal areas with a lot of sunlight as a provider of an efficient and low-cost water source.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A completely passive solar-powered desalination system developed by researchers at MIT and in China could provide more than 1.5 gallons of fresh drinking water per hour for every square meter of solar collecting area. Such systems could potentially serve off-grid arid coastal areas to provide an efficient, low-cost water source.

The system uses multiple layers of flat solar evaporators and condensers, lined up in a vertical array and topped with transparent aerogel insulation. It is described in a paper appearing today in the journal Energy and Environmental Science, authored by MIT doctoral students Lenan Zhang and Lin Zhao, postdoc Zhenyuan Xu, professor of mechanical engineering and department head Evelyn Wang, and eight others at MIT and at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.

The key to the system's efficiency lies in the way it uses each of the multiple stages to desalinate the water. At each stage, heat released by the previous stage is harnessed instead of wasted. In this way, the team's demonstration device can achieve an overall efficiency of 385 percent in converting the energy of sunlight into the energy of water evaporation.

The device is essentially a multilayer solar still, with a set of evaporating and condensing components like those used to distill liquor. It uses flat panels to absorb heat and then transfer that heat to a layer of water so that it begins to evaporate. The vapor then condenses on the next panel. That water gets collected, while the heat from the vapor condensation gets passed to the next layer.

Whenever vapor condenses on a surface, it releases heat; in typical condenser systems, that heat is simply lost to the environment. But in this multilayer evaporator the released heat flows to the next evaporating layer, recycling the solar heat and boosting the overall efficiency.

"When you condense water, you release energy as heat," Wang says. "If you have more than one stage, you can take advantage of that heat."

Adding more layers increases the conversion efficiency for producing potable water, but each layer also adds cost and bulk to the system. The team settled on a 10-stage system for their proof-of-concept device, which was tested on an MIT building rooftop. The system delivered pure water that exceeded city drinking water standards, at a rate of 5.78 liters per square meter (about 1.52 gallons per 11 square feet) of solar collecting area. This is more than two times as much as the record amount previously produced by any such passive solar-powered desalination system, Wang says.

Theoretically, with more desalination stages and further optimization, such systems could reach overall efficiency levels as high as 700 or 800 percent, Zhang says.

Unlike some desalination systems, there is no accumulation of salt or concentrated brines to be disposed of. In a free-floating configuration, any salt that accumulates during the day would simply be carried back out at night through the wicking material and back into the seawater, according to the researchers.

Their demonstration unit was built mostly from inexpensive, readily available materials such as a commercial black solar absorber and paper towels for a capillary wick to carry the water into contact with the solar absorber. In most other attempts to make passive solar desalination systems, the solar absorber material and the wicking material have been a single component, which requires specialized and expensive materials, Wang says. "We've been able to decouple these two."

The most expensive component of the prototype is a layer of transparent aerogel used as an insulator at the top of the stack, but the team suggests other less expensive insulators could be used as an alternative. (The aerogel itself is made from dirt-cheap silica but requires specialized drying equipment for its manufacture.)

Wang emphasizes that the team's key contribution is a framework for understanding how to optimize such multistage passive systems, which they call thermally localized multistage desalination. The formulas they developed could likely be applied to a variety of materials and device architectures, allowing for further optimization of systems based on different scales of operation or local conditions and materials.

One possible configuration would be floating panels on a body of saltwater such as an impoundment pond. These could constantly and passively deliver fresh water through pipes to the shore, as long as the sun shines each day. Other systems could be designed to serve a single household, perhaps using a flat panel on a large shallow tank of seawater that is pumped or carried in. The team estimates that a system with a roughly 1-square-meter solar collecting area could meet the daily drinking water needs of one person. In production, they think a system built to serve the needs of a family might be built for around $100.

The researchers plan further experiments to continue to optimize the choice of materials and configurations, and to test the durability of the system under realistic conditions. They also will work on translating the design of their lab-scale device into a something that would be suitable for use by consumers. The hope is that it could ultimately play a role in alleviating water scarcity in parts of the developing world where reliable electricity is scarce but seawater and sunlight are abundant.

"This new approach is very significant," says Ravi Prasher, an associate lab director at

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and adjunct professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, who was not involved in this work. "One of the challenges in solar still-based desalination has been low efficiency due to the loss of significant energy in condensation. By efficiently harvesting the condensation energy, the overall solar to vapor efficiency is dramatically improved. ... This increased efficiency will have an overall impact on reducing the cost of produced water."

The research team included Bangjun Li, Chenxi Wang and Ruzhu Wang at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Bikram Bhatia, Kyle Wilke, Youngsup Song, Omar Labban, and John Lienhard, who is the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Water at MIT. The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, and the MIT Tata Center for Technology and Design.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A completely passive solar-powered desalination system developed by researchers at MIT and in China could provide more than 1.5 gallons of fresh drinking water per hour for every square meter of solar collecting area. Such systems could potentially serve off-grid arid coastal areas to provide an efficient, low-cost water source.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image from: National Energy Technology Laboratory (Sketch of a Plasma Gasifier

# data[].attributes.body
Plasma gasification is a developing technology that converts industrial and municipal solid wastes into energy in the form of synthetic gas. It can prevent landfills from getting filled up as it uses municipal solid wastes as feed and it does not leave any tar, char, or residue aside from a glassy slag which also has benefits. It also produces less CO2 emissions than burning trash. In addition, there is also investigations about using this technology to transform coal into gas.
recently has been investigating the application of their plasma technology to gasify coal.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image from: genevaenvironmentnetwork.org (Image of a pile of e-waste)

# data[].attributes.body
Electronic waste or e-waste are different types of electric and electronic gadgets that have lost their value or usability, thus no longer able to do their original tasks. Some of these include refrigerators, washing machines, and gadgets such as cell phones, computers, and radios. These technology are thrown away once they break or are replaced by newer technologies, and given our current society where it is the age of information and technology, this is bound to happen as the production and consumption of technology continuously increases. E-waste is accumulating at an alarming rate as these products become obsolete quickly.

E-waste, being made from different types of materials contain recoverable materials such as gold, silver, and copper, which makes it more valuable than other types of waste. On the other hand, e-waste also contains different toxic substances that can threaten the health of people or of the environment. E-waste comprises more than 5% of all municipal solid waste worldwide, and is continuously increasing as consumption of these products are rising in developing countries. E-waste is  more recycled in developing countries as they do not have strict guidelines for this type of waste.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Image from: fao.org (Image of tractor spraying pesticides)

# data[].attributes.body
Pesticides are an easy and cheap way of enhancing agricultural yield, thus it is widely used in modern agriculture.
It is approximated that in one year, 2 million tonnes of pesticide are used around the world, and is continuously  increasing. In addition, it was estimated that in 2020, pesticide usage around the world would have increased to 3.5 million times. It is true that pesticides are of great importance in agriculture, but extensive use of pesticides also has an adverse effect on the environment because of their bio-magnification.

The chemicals in pesticides or insecticides used in agriculture can cause contamination of streams, rivers and groundwater reservoirs as these chemicals can runoff and infiltrate these bodies of water leading to a decrease in water quality. The effects can vary such as posing risks to aquatic life in rivers and streams and groundwater sources as these pollutants can enter reservoirs.