With its proximity to the National Capital Region (NCR), as well as the growing presence of large industrial and residential estates, there have been some concerns about worsening pollution in Calamba City, Laguna.
And yet, the city earned the distinction of being the “least air-polluted city” in the Philippines, according to the 2023 IQAir World Air Quality Report.
That same report also ranked Calamba City sixth in the entire Southeast Asian region in terms of air quality.
According to the study, Calamba ranked sixth in Southeast Asia and the cleanest in the country, with an 8.2 μg/m3 average of PM2.5. Ranked ninth on the list is Carmona, Cavite, with 8.9 μg/m3, while Balanga, Bataan ranked 11th with 9.2 μg/m3.
The report provided a review of PM2.5 air quality from 7,812 cities worldwide, and 357 regional cities in Southeast Asia.
Local waste management
Meanwhile, as part of efforts to promote a cleaner environment amid economic progress, Ronn Martin Reyes, the supervising environmental management specialist of Calamba’s City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), bared plans to review and revise the current ordinances to dissuade residents from using plastic.
“We actually have regulations about the use of styrofoam and plastic bags, which are covered under the ordinance 10-481. We will be focusing on reviewing and strengthening these laws by campaigning to utilize alternatives,” Reyes said in a recent media interview.
This initiative is integral to the new 10-year Solid Waste Management Plan of Calamba following the existing policies set by the national government.
“We will be revising it. The first thing we need to do is the Waste Analysis and Characterization. So, we have to study and analyze the contents of the waste from households and establishments. We need to determine the percentage of biodegradables, recyclables, residuals, and hazardous waste. We also want to include innovative technologies to improve our Solid Waste Management Plan,” he said.
Reyes added that the city government’s initiatives, projects, and ordinances are environment-centric under the leadership of Mayor Roseller Rizal and the support of Calamba CENRO.
This includes the establishment of Task Force KKK or the Kalikasan at Kalinisan para sa Kaligtasan, tasked with cleaning operations throughout the city, and the enactment of a city ordinance prohibiting the burning of garbage that may cause air pollution.
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