Municipal Waste Recycling Program (MWRP) – Philippines Country Profile

Each year, eight million metric tons of plastic pour into the world’s ocean. This global crisis has origins in poor waste management systems of rapidly urbanizing coastal cities in developing countries. The Philippines—comprised of over 7,000 islands—is the world’s third largest plastic polluter to the marine environment, contributing approximately 750,000 metric tons annually.

 THE CHALLENGE

Keeping waste out of the ocean is a challenge in the Philippines because much of the country’s solid waste ends up in open dumping sites, allowing leakage into waterways. The Philippines—made up of over 7,000 islands and home to 106 million people—is the world’s third largest marine plastic polluter, contributing up to 750,000 metric tons annually.1

Currently, less than a third of Metro Manila’s barangays2 effectively implement a solid waste management (SWM) system that includes segregation at source. This challenge leads to mismanaged plastic waste and threatens livelihoods in tourism and fishing.