The Ateneo de Zamboanga Medical Students ought to do a waste analysis characterization study (WACS) in line with their community health problem: improper solid waste management. The waste analysis determines the percentage of the different types of waste in Barangay Bag-ong Dalaguete mainly biodegradable, residual, recyclable, and special waste. With the results, the intervention would depend largely on. For example, a high percentage of biodegradable waste entails that interventions are focused on encouraging the people in creating their own household compost pit for their waste and a different approach would be used if a larger percentage would be residual and so on. The ultimate goal of the community health problem is to mitigate the prevalence of diseases that is coming from the people’s improper solid waste management. Though it may seem an indirect intervention for a health-focused method in improving the barangay’s status, it is a pressing issue identified here in Bag-ong Dalaguete and with other community health problems it would, all-in-all, improve the Barangay from an overall unhealthy Barangay to a healthy Barangay.
The WACS started by creating a garbage collection bag labeled in three (3) different days as: regular day, a weekend, and a market day. This is to assess the waste in terms of the families activities. Depending upon their activities depends as well the amount of waste being thrown. From ninety-seven (97) households, the students were able to distribute to thirty (30) households for the WACS.
After, the wastes were collected and segregated per purok and per household. Each waste were labeled with their last name corresponding the household. Next after labeling the students started to segregate each household waste by the four types of wastes said above. The wastes were categorized in two (2) labels, by day and by type of waste. Each day has 4 type of waste depending upon the content of the households waste. After, the students determined each waste’s weight in terms of kilograms as well as volume in terms of liters.
Subsequently, with the amount of waste analyzed its evident that among the residents of Bag-ong Dalaguete, the most waste were recyclables. The agreed and seemed logical intervention is to contact the local government unit for a monthly schedule of a garbage truck to collect the wastes of the local residents.