“Malaking pagbabago talaga. Hindi mo makikilala ang Barangay 20 ngayon kumpara noon.”
[There really was a big change. You wouldn’t recognize Barangay 20 now compared to before.]

These remarks are often said by both the barangay officials, residents, and the volunteers in charge of this change, when asked about the cleanliness of their beloved Barangay 20. 

Tondo, Manila is known to be one of the most densely populated places in the world, and within it Barangay 20, the second most populous barangay in the City of Manila. As a port-side community living within the district of the infamous decommissioned Smokey Mountain, the images commonly associated with Barangay 20 are those with seemingly mountain-high piles of garbage along Road 10 and MICT Access Road. The smell of garbage used to be present from even across the road. It was common to see layers upon layers of garbage floating along the coast of Manila Bay where this community resides. 

In a waste analysis and characterization study conducted in 2014, it was estimated that Barangay 20 and 275, the community across, generated 10 tons of waste per day. With a combined population of more than 65,000 residents, this volume of waste is no surprise. 

Despite efforts from the city government and port authorities to improve the waste management situation in Barangay 20, none have stuck. Residents of Barangay 20 worried more about their day-to-day lives than anything else, trying to get as much income and food on the table as possible. The mountain of wastes outside their door was, at the time, part of their daily living.

Changing the game

Hope for change in Barangay 20 came in the form of a group of volunteers. 

The Eco-Patrols are a group of 78 volunteers from Barangay 20, Tondo and Barangay 275, Binondo who were organized by the ICTSI Foundation under the Parola Solid Waste Management Program. Started in 2013, the community-based program trained the volunteers in proper solid waste management practices such as proper segregation and recycling. 

Rebecca Sanchez is an Area Monitoring Officer of Isla Puting Bato and Eco-Patrol for Barangay 20 in Tondo, Manila. She became part of the Eco-Patrols in 2017 by directly asking the ICTSI Foundation Program Head to join. She saw the major changes in cleanliness made in Parola, one of the compounds in Barangay 20, and wanted that for her area in Isla Puting Bato as well. 

“Nakita ko yung malaking pagbabago sa kalinisan ng Parola,” she says. “Kailangan namin magkaroon ng Eco-Patrols sa Isla, para matututo na rin ang mga tao ang tamang pagtatapon ng basura nila.”

[I saw the huge change in cleanliness in Parola. We need to have our own Eco-Patrols in Isla, so that people can also learn the right way to dispose of their trash.]

Prior to the expansion of the Parola Solid Waste Management Program to Isla Puting Bato, residents of the area elected to dispose of their wastes in piles nearly as high as the border wall of the ICTSI Compound, along MICT Access Road. Worse, some residents used to throw their wastes directly into Manila Bay. Residents, according to Rebecca, had no awareness of proper disposal and segregation. 

Aside from regular seminars and training sessions, Eco-Patrols were given team building and communication workshops. These workshops helped them coordinate with each other better, as well as to become more confident in speaking. This confidence would easily translate better into convincing their neighbors in Barangay 20 about proper waste segregation and disposal. Rather than just being the ‘cleaners’, Eco-Patrols are considered partners and leaders in maintaining cleanliness in their communities. 

Being an Eco-Patrol however, did not come without its difficulties at first, especially in a community with a rough past such as Barangay 20. 

“Medyo mahirap noong umpisa,” remarked Rebecca. “Halos lahat ng tao ay hindi nila alam o hindi sila aware sa tamang pagtatapon. Marami rin, pilosopo.”

[It was a bit difficult in the beginning,” remarked Rebecca. “Almost everyone didn’t know or weren’t aware of proper disposal. There were also a lot of people who were pedantic or sarcastic.]

Rebecca lamented that informing her neighbors and fellow community members about proper solid waste management wasn’t easy, to say the least. Exchanges in the early days often became heated, especially with the more stubborn residents. She detailed a story wherein residents of the community would, upon seeing Eco-Patrols sweeping or gathering trash, throw their trash directly in front of them. These people assumed that they could throw their trash anywhere, and the Eco-Patrols would always be there to clean up after them. 

Still, Rebecca and her fellow volunteers persisted. Eventually, after a year of difficulties, the Eco-Patrols efforts were slowly being rewarded. 

Rebecca saw the same huge change that happened in Parola happen to Isla Puting Bato. The streets were no longer littered with trash, there were several potted plants lined in front of houses, and wastes were segregated and disposed of in sacks. 

“Konti nalang po ang nagtatapon diresto sa dagat,” Rebecca said, explaining the difference made by her and her fellow Eco-Patrols. “Natuto rin sila. Naturuan na rin namin sila na ‘pag tapat mo, linis mo.”

[Fewer people are throwing their wastes directly into the bay. They’ve learned. We’ve also taught them that if the trash is in front of your house, it’s up to you to clean it.]

Her community of Isla Puting Bato, like Parola and the rest of Barangay 20, could finally see the results of their efforts: a cleaner, more organized community. They, like the Eco-Patrols, shared a sense of pride for their hard work, leading them to maintain the cleanliness and orderliness through improving waste management to this day. 

Community Champions

Being an Eco-Patrol, according to Rebecca, is more than just helping maintain cleanliness, and influencing their neighbors to properly segregate and dispose of their wastes. To these volunteers, it is their duty.

“Ang pagiging Eco-Patrol ay hindi pagpapakitang tao - tungkulin talaga.”
[Being an Eco-Patrol isn’t about showing face - it’s a duty.]

Rebecca considers her work one of public service. As a leader, she makes it a point to be available and open to the needs of other Eco-Patrols. Other than their regular monthly meetings with the different Eco-Patrols and purok leaders, she makes it a point to regularly bond with them, particularly through prolonged lunches and dinners after their community activities. 

She sees her being an Eco-Patrol not just as work, but as an opportunity to be able to provide for the needs of her community. She cites this as one of the experiences of being an Eco-Patrol that brings her happiness. 

“Habang may lakas pa ako, dapat magbigay ako para sa komunidad.”
[While I still have the strength, I should give to my community.]

WWF-Philippines sees the important contributions of communities in addressing plastic pollution in ports in the Philippines. Through the project Clean Ports, Clean Oceans: Improving Port Waste Management in the Philippines, WWF-Philippines aims to work with adjacent communities since they play an important role in addressing plastic wastes in the Manila North Port.