Coastal Waste Transport in Catbalogan City, Philippines and Nearby Towns

Abstract

More than half of Catbalogan barangays (villages) are situated along the Maqueda Bay, the primary source of food for Samariños (people of Samar). Sixty percent of these coastal barangays have no direct access to waste disposal facilities such as garbage trucks and landfill. Almost 50% of domestic waste from these barangays is thrown directly to the sea, while 22% partly dispose their waste into Maqueda bay or a total of 7201 kg of waste daily. An improvised 3-dimensional micro-model shows how wastes are transported from one barangay to the other. The waste transport goes beyond barangay boundaries for many of waste travel to the coast of other municipalities and probably to other provinces. Approximately about 33% of fresh wastes float and are transported to other places, most of the remaining waste rot onsite making the site dark, dirty and has foul smell. Waste disposal practices of coastal towns/cities affects each other, therefore proper waste disposal practices must be widely practiced.

Keywords

• Coastal degradation
• Coastal debris
• Coastal waste transport
• Catbalogan
• Maqueda bay