Solid Waste. Management Practices. Of Hotels And Resorts. In Ilocos Norte. Researchjournali s Journal of Hospitality Tourism. Cherie B.

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1 Vol. 3 No. 1 February Solid Waste Management Practices Of Hotels And Resorts In Ilocos Norte Cherie B. Orpia Mariano Marcos State University, Batac City, Ilocos Norte, Philippines

2 Vol. 3 No. 1 February ABSTRACT The study highlights the solid waste management practices of hotels and resorts in Ilocos Norte. Findings of the study prove that accommodation establishments are aware on the implementation of proper waste management policies. The presence of waste management policies in hotels and resorts are not significantly related to their accommodation classification, which indicate that the establishments value the importance of waste management practices. Solid waste type is being disposed by the hotels and resorts; where kitchen waste followed by excess food for the hotels and leaves and tree branches for resorts. The most common policies being implemented are solid waste sorting, recycling and signboards. Most common problems encountered regarding waste management by resorts and hotels within the province are infrequent collection of waste, inaccessibility of dumpsite, no garbage collection done by local government and solid waste are too much to handle. Massive educational campaign must be conducted to sustain proper waste management. Local governments should formulate a long-term and comprehensive solid waste management programs that would encourage and motivate the public to cooperate and participate. Keywords: tourism, solid waste management 1. INTRODUCTION Waste management and disposal becomes a pressing problem as human population, industrial activity and material composition expand. Policies and ordinances are implemented to carry out legal responsibilities and to promote general welfare. In the tourism sector, problems arise when the tourism starts to grow; the proximal natural environment starts to deteriorate as the human activity picks up. Waste disposal must be managed properly so as to lessen its impact to the environment. Ilocos Norte is one of the known tourist destinations in the country that has plenty of hotels and resorts to offer to tourists. In its case new hotels and resorts comes out and old ones expand. The handling of large volume of waste has not been closely looked upon and its neglect might be unfavorable to the industry. This paper will then conduct an overview of the waste management situation of the hotels and resorts in Ilocos Norte and how the tourists think of the situation. Specifically, it aims to: Know the Ilocos Norte profile with regard to hotels and resorts; Classify the solid waste materials from these hotels and resorts and how they manage their waste disposal;

3 Vol. 3 No. 1 February REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Republic Act 9003 provides the legal framework for the country s systematic comprehensive and ecological solid waste management program that shall ensure the protection of public health and environment. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Local Government Units (LGU s), Non Government Organizations (NGO s) and other organizations or departments are assigned to monitor and check whether this law is implemented or not. 2.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Figure 1: Conceptual Framework of Accommodation Facilities Hotel (1,2,3,4,5 ) Solid Waste Management Problems Solid Waste Management Practices Infrequent collection of waste/garbage Dumpsite location is too far No garbage collection done by the local gov t Solid wastes are too much to handle Recycling Incineration Open Pit Collection to public dumpsite Septic tank Segregation 3. RESEARCH DESIGN This study made use of the descriptive research. The researchers collected information on the waste management practices of selected hotels and resorts in Pagudpud, Burgos, Laoag City and Currimao. 3.1 POPULATION AND SAMPLE At present, a total of 56 hotels and resorts exist in Ilocos Norte. All hotels and resorts were in the towns of Pagudpud, Burgos, Laoag and Currimao were included in the study. Respondents are the hotel/resort owners or any employee in-charge in monitoring the waste management practices in their establishments.

4 Vol. 3 No. 1 February Figure 3: Map of Ilocos Norte showing the locale of the study Source: wikipedia 3.2 DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE Before the survey was conducted, letters addressed to various hotel and resort owners in the province were prepared requesting permission to do the survey and distribute questionnaire to the establishments management and guests. Convenience sampling was adopted in determining the tourists to be surveyed. Data for this study was gathered using a structured questionnaire designed for the hotel and resort owners. Then a face to face interview was conducted. Question asked from the improved pre-tested questionnaire to tap into the respondents information on their profile, awareness and policies on waste management practices. 3.3 METHODS OF DATA ANALYSIS The data gathered from the selected hotels and resorts were combined and presented in tabular, graphical and textual forms. These were treated with descriptive statistical tools such as percentages and frequency counts and through graphs or visual presentation in order to explain, analyze and interpret the gathered data. Cross tabulation and chi-square tests were used to determine if the presence of waste management policies in hotels and resorts is associated by their classification or category. The statistical analysis was done with the help of MS Excel and SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) a comprehensive, easy to use and predictive statistical software for data analysis. 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 TYPES OF SOLID WASTES, ITS MANAGEMENT AND DISPOSAL Resorts and hotels have varied types on the bulk of waste being disposed. The types of solid waste in Resorts surveyed are leaves followed by kitchen wastes, excess food, product packaging and plastics. Leaves/ tree branches are the most disposed type of waste because resorts in Ilocos Norte are near the beach and natureinspired. In hotels kitchen wastes are the most commonly collected, this might be attributable to the fact that food and beverage is one of the main services of Hotels.

5 Vol. 3 No. 1 February Collection of Public Dumpsite is the most preferred way of disposing waste by every Hotel and Resort in Ilocos Norte. As for recycling, paper are frequently recycled in Resorts with 44%, whereas, in Hotels papers and glass/ bottles both with 33% are mostly being recycled. Sorting of solid waste accounts to 31% which is carried out by most resorts as a part of following policies in proper waste management whereas no littering and no smoking signs are imposed at 24% of the hotels. Table 1. Types of Solid waste being disposed, materials being recycled, disposal techniques and waste management policies of hotels and resorts in Ilocos Norte Percentage Disposed Hotel Resort Solid Waste Type Leaves/Tree branches Kitchen Waste Excess Food Product Packaging Room waste/others 5 0 Plastics 0 3 Materials being recycled/reused Paper Plastic Glass/bottles Water 17 0 Leaves 0 13 Disposal Techniques (multiple answers) Recycling Incineration 7 11 Open Pit Collection to public dumpsite Septic Tank 7 0 Segregation 7 0 Waste Management policies Waste recycling Sorting of solid waste No littering signs No smoking signs Other signboards Penalty for violators 0 6 Proper use of trash cans 0 3 Awareness and discipline 5 0 Forty seven percent of the resort respondents claimed that the most common problem encountered by resorts regarding waste management is infrequent collection of waste/garbage. While 36% of the hotel surveyed said that most dumpsites are located outside the city while hotels are generally located in downtowns therefore the most common problem encountered by hotels is proximity of dumpsites.

6 Vol. 3 No. 1 February Sixty nine percent of Resorts and 50% of Hotels surveyed proved that they obtain support from the government in the implementation of proper waste management. Table 2: Common Problems Encountered, presence of support from the government on solid waste management Percentage Hotel Resort Common Problems Encountered on waste management Infrequent Collection Dumpsite is too far No garbage collection done by LGU 9 12 Solid waste are too much to handle Tourist perception on the implementation on proper waste management With government support With no government support Maybe 38 8 Table 3. Problems in solid waste management Percent Lots of dead leaves 43 Trash cans are hard to find 18 Absence of signage 18 Smelly surroundings 12 Dirty Surroundings 6 Table 3 shows that lots of dead leaves around the surroundings are the most common problem on solid waste management encountered by most respondents with 43% of the total number of respondents surveyed Table 4: Practices Done in Sustaining Proper Waste Management Percent Discipline 41 Proper waste disposal 20 Implementation of rules and regulation 17 Cooperation 17 Educate locals regarding proper water management 4 To be able to maintain proper waste management, majority of the respondents, 41% said that discipline must be practice followed by proper waste disposal, implementation of rules and regulations, cooperation and education of locals regarding proper waste disposal with 20%, 17%, 17% and 4% respectively. Resorts surveyed said that guests must dispose their waste properly which accounts to 42% as their contribution in upholding proper waste management in most resorts. In hotels, guests contributions in upholding proper waste management are disposing waste properly, no littering and proper use of toilet all with 33%. Fifty percent of the respondents claimed that they dispose their waste properly as a contribution in upholding proper waste management as a guest in a hotel/resort while 26% contribute by not littering and 24% are properly using the toilet as demonstrated in Table 5.

7 Vol. 3 No. 1 February Table 5: Guest Contribution on upholding proper waste management Hotel Resort Guest Contribution as perceived by hotel and resort management Dispose waste properly No Littering Proper use of toilet No Smoking 0 3 Guest Contribution as perceived by themselves (total) Disposing waste properly 45 No littering 23 Proper use of toilet 22 Table 6: Chi square analysis on the waste management policies in hotels and resorts by accommodation classification Chi-square Sig The result shows that the presence of waste management policies in hotels and resorts are not significantly related to their classification. This indicates that waste management policies are important in every accommodation facilities. 5.0 CONCLUSION The findings of the study prove that accommodation establishments are aware on the implementation of proper waste management policies. The presence of waste management policies in hotels and resorts are not significantly related to their accommodation classification, which indicate that establishments value the importance of waste management practices. Several policies are being implemented by the hotels and resorts and most common of which are sorting and recycling. Most of the solid wastes being handled are leaves and branches for resorts and kitchen wastes for hotels. These establishments mostly suffer on problems on infrequent collection of waste, inaccessibility of dumpsite, no garbage collection done by local government and solid waste are just too much. To be able to achieve a sustainable solid waste management, a massive public educational campaign must be conducted. Long term solid waste management programs must be formulated by the local government units to encourage and motivate the public. Furthermore, the local government units should reach out and build partnership with non-government organizations, private sectors and civic organizations to mobilize resources. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The researcher acknowledges the full support of the Mariano Marcos State University, Dr. Miriam Pascua, Dr. Epifania Agustin, Dr. Marilou Lucas and the following for data gathering: Joanna Capulong, Marc Elwyn Guerrero, Arah Hernando, Sianne Martin,Dianne Mateo, Ingrid Rarangol, Patrice Tuliao, Katherine Valdez, Ralph Watchorna and Rhea Lyn Yanos.

8 Vol. 3 No. 1 February REFERENCES Delos Santos, Michael P. 2005Level of Awareness and extent of Implementation of solid waste management Program in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte. Neuschatz, Alan. Managing the Environment, Washington Environmental Research Center Kreith, Frank and George Tchnobanoglous, Handbook on Solid waste management, McGraw-Hill