In our society today we have seen a lot of drastic changes in our environment, mostly

caused by human involvement and the source of that contribution is our very own waste
products. Several campaigns have been made to combat this never-ending battle against
garbage disposal, some of which are the "Reduce, Re-use, Recycle" drive and "Piso para sa
Pasig" by the former first lady, Mrs. Ming Ramos. These ideas have widen the awareness of the
people regarding solid waste management and care for the environment but have measly
scratched the surface on dealing with the garbage disposal issues.
In Metro Manila, the consequences of improper garbage disposal have already been felt a lot of
times, especially during the rainy season where our country is constantly barraged by numerous
typhoons and the effects are absolutely catastrophic. Low lying areas and vicinities near
waterways and rivers are the ones making these headlines during the typhoon season, areas
like Araneta Avenue, Navotas, Sta. Mesa and the infamous Marikina which was decimated by
the typhoon Ondoy.
With our future right in the palm of our hands, we must be thinking right ahead of "What else
can we do?" for the reduction of the damages and casualties caused by the changing weather
conditions all over the world and especially in the patterns of the typhoon including their trending
strength.
With respect to Mother Earth and her ways, there is pretty much nothing that we can do. We are
helpless and at the mercy of her wrath, unless there are funded breakthroughs in changing
weather conditions in a specific area which I only get to see in military games, wherein a
lightning storm is used to attack an enemy from a distance by manipulating the weather factors
in a specific point to bring about a deadly attack. This maybe a part of the science fiction but we
might as well see one in the future wherein we are able to control Earth's pattern to be able to
change the weather conditions to our benefit, just imagine the possibilities.
But going back to reality, there are no viable inventions or apparatuses available yet to perform
such task so it is again the responsibility of each of us to sign-up and join the challenge to
defend ourselves against the effects of severe flooding due to improper waste disposal.
So, the question now is "What can be a concrete action against improper garbage disposal?"
Information dissemination nowadays is a very easy feat, social networking sites such as
Facebook has allowed us to be connected with each other and awareness with waste disposal
is only a click away. With that power of connectivity, we can reach millions of people in a few
minutes if not seconds.
What does connectivity have to do with the solution that could massively help in our cause
against garbage disposal? In a straightforward answer, we badly need it so that people can be a
part of the bigger plan.
For instance, in Facebook, there are a lot of contests, freebies and promos that are being
shared eveyday by people and there are those who are exerting their part in joining them. Why

not use that scheme to "reward people" in dealing with waste management? It seems to be a
simple idea but might be colossal duty to impose. This idea is a bit concrete and requires a lot of
participation not only from the national, public, and private sectors but most especially the
communities as well. This is the "Points for Trash" Scheme.
What is "Project: Points for Trash"?
It is projected to be a government or national project which aims to reward people in
giving their trash for points which in return, the points can redeem basic human necessities such
as food, some stuff for hygiene, clothing etc. to human wants like gadgets, electronic devices
and even travelling tickets. The main goal is to encourage people to properly dispose their
waste in various disposal centres not only in Metro Manila but also in other regional areas of the
Philippines.
How do we plan to implement it?
The government will arrange sponsorships to lessen the load of the states budget by
offering commercial space for consumer-related corporations to place their branding in this
project and in return the companies would supply the government with the goods or items that
can be offered in conversion of the points.
For wider audience, we will not only rely on social media in information dissemination, but we
will also approach broadcasting companies such as television and radio for sponsorship for
airtime to be able to reach everyone that is interested to participate in the project.
In the implementation of points system, various existing avenues can be considered like
collection of points through magnetic cards, digital point redemption through smart phones or
ticket-receipt system. For the point redemption kiosks, sites or offices, it will be placed in
government sites, facilities, utility establishments for a wider offer of point conversion in various
places.
What are the benefits of the participating entities/corporations/companies?
Firstly, by joining this project they would be able to meet and express their corporate
goal of caring of the environment by supporting and making tangible contributions to help
promote proper waste management. Secondly, since the government will be primarily in charge
of information dissemination, advertising and brand awareness, the companies and corporation
s that will participate would gain mass attention, popularity and project image of goodwill and
environmental consciousness to the consumers.
How does one earn "Trash Points"?
For proper accumulation of points the following basic rules must be met:
1.) The garbage must be properly segregated on the specially provided "Trash Point Bags"
(TPB or Trash Point Bags are specially coloured plastic garbage disposal bags which are
provided by the sponsors which identifies the type of trash contained inside whether it is
biodegradable, non-biodegradable, hazardous, recyclable etc.)

2.) The Trash Information Sticker (TIS or Trash Information Sticker is a specially designed barcoded label wherein the name, account number and other personal information of the point
collector is attached) must be properly filled-up upon submission of the TPB.
3.) Upon submission of the TPB to the point redemption site, the person must present his or her
magnetic card or account number to the verifier. After which the verifier will weigh the TPB and
will convert the necessary kilo to points ratio and credit such to the account number of the
person submitting the TPB. The points will vary according to the waste delivered by the person.
4.) One can earn points as well by "Point Transfer System" this type system is encouraged to
promote the points as negotiable or tradable just like real money or commodity, in turn
expanding the use of the Trash Points to other beneficial use for the society.
How can the points be converted to items or commodities?
1.) Item Redemption Sites (IRS) are different from the Point Redemption Sites (PRS), they
will be separated for hygiene and safety reasons.
2.) Upon presentation of any point bearer proof (magnetic cards, ticket-receipt etc.) a list of
available items will be presented upon the bearer and from there, we will choose any of
the items enlisted provided that his points are sufficient enough to redeem the items that
he wish to collect.
What do we do with all the trash/unwanted items that the government has collected?
The destination of the collected items will depend on their type or class, for
biodegradable items its better dry them up and shred them collectively to produce fertilizers, if
there is a technology to convert them into pellet form it would be much better for proper storage
and handling. For non-biodegradable items putting them to public use will be a efficient way of
disposing them just like in Eat Bulagas segment of Juan for all and all for Juan the plastic
items collected will be converted into chairs that will be donated to public schools. For
hazardous and infectious waste any form of progressive suggestion may be entertained.
What is the reason behind the implementation of such system?
Good question, since human psychology involves the idea of reward system to be
inspired, or motivated to be involved in activities, we are exploiting that specific part of the
human mind. Giving people what they want simply gives them more reason to follow or to abide
by the existing rules and regulations of waste disposal management. By rewarding their actions
with the things that they need and want, there is no need to remind them about proper disposal
management; hence, it will be an automatic response because they are going to be rewarded
for simply following the procedure of waste disposal. In Singapore they are imposing fines for
non-compliance of city ordinances against improper disposal.
In our scenario however, it will be a different one. We will use positive reinforcement for people
to abide by the rules and regulations. It may be a simple step in reaching cleanliness in the
community but we believe that it is going to be a long-term benefit for the nation.

What will be the probable social and environmental effects of the campaign?
We are expecting a high volume of positive response from the general public. There
might be a small violent response from people who are doing business of scrapped items or
commodities but this drive will not be a direct competitor of the "Junk Shop" enterprise because
the consideration to be traded is not of monetary value and the points may require larger
amount of trash/unwanted items compared to "Junk Shop" conversion.
Other social effects would be large awareness of the campaign, therefore naturally expanding
the target audience because of the expected positive feedback from different levels of the
community. As for some of environmental turnaround, we are expecting a consequential effects
of cleanliness towards the communities as different types of people are going to work their way
to accumulate points.
These are only some of the ideas that might be included in the actual planning of the system but
it is susceptible and adaptive for changes.
Although it is only a pigment of an idea for the promotion of care for the environment, through
national government and community effort, such plan to combat improper trash disposal may
bring about the order and cleanliness that our country needs for the furtherance of not only our
economical development, but most importantly to develop our sense of love and care for our
environment and natural surroundings.
Using the human reaction to positive reinforcement may definitely help this cause to skyrocket
not only because of the reward that it brings but also the sense of fulfilment as well for all the
people taking part from it.