Naz, Antonia Corinthia C and Mario Tuscan N. Naz. 2006. Modeling ...

Urbanized cities in the Philippines, like Olongapo, Lipa, Batangas and Cagayan
de Oro, have some degree of success in collecting monthly garbage or user fees ranging
from PhP 10 to PhP 40 for households and PhP 75 to PhP 3,000 for commercial and
industrial establishments. (WB-SWEEP, 1998). Olongapo City became the first city in
the Philippines to implement direct user charges in 1991. It achieved a cost recovery of
35 percent of the total SWM costs by charging a fixed fee built into the electricity bills.
Bennagen (2003) examined the impacts of a unit pricing system in the disposal
of solid wastes in Olongapo City. A unit pricing scheme will result in an incremental
reduction of about 3,305 tons of waste annually. About PhP 860,000 per year in avoided
costs can be realized by the city in SWM in the first three years, and savings of up to
PhP 2.9 million annually in the succeeding periods.
Sumalde (2005) investigated how LGUs finance ECOSWAM services. For Solid
Waste Association of the Philippines (SWAPP) - listed LGUs, the average unit costs of
solid waste was PhP 255 per m 3 and PhP 795 per household. In non-SWAPP listed
LGUs, per unit cost is PhP 301 per m 3 of waste and PhP 646 per household. Only two
LGUs earn from garbage fees incorporated in either the water bill or the electric bill.
Gottinger (1991) suggested that more in-depth research needs to be done on the most
appropriate method of assessing and collecting user charges for a solid waste collection
system. Bennagen (2003) also recommends the same.
3.1 The Project Site
3.0 RESEARCH METHODS
Tuba is a second-class municipality that shares common borders with first class,
highly urbanized Baguio City. Tuba is approximately 7 km. west of Baguio City and
238 km. north of Manila. It is the radiation area of the developmental and spillover
activities of Baguio City in terms of education, commerce, industry, housing, tourism
and solid wastes. Its Santo Tomas watershed serves as a vital water source for Baguio.
It has a total land area of 43,428 hectares, with an elevation of around 5,000 feet above
sea level. Owing to its rugged terrain, 57 percent of its area has a slope of 50 percent
and above (very steep). Tuba has two pronounced distinct seasons, a wet season from
May to October and a dry season during the rest of the year. It has 13 barangays with a
total population of 39,525 or 7,391 households (Tuba RHU, Dec. 2004). Many of
Tuba’s barangays are non-contiguous, i.e., one has to pass through Baguio City in order
to go to the other barangays of Tuba. Twelve high-density housing subdivisions are
under construction in Tuba. Its major economic activities are agriculture, livestock
production, tourism, mining and cottage industries.
Tuba does not yet have a municipal-wide solid waste collection and disposal
system. Each household and business establishment is responsible for its own SWM.
Waste generation from a Tuba household is estimated to be 0.33kg per capita (EMB-
CAR, 2003). Tuba residents dispose of their solid wastes through burying, dumping in
individual pits, composting, burning, feeding to animals, open dumping and other
means (Tuba RHU, 2004). v The Tuba Mayor organized the municipal solid waste
management board (MSWMB) in July 2001. Then, he re-organized this as the
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