Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
INTRODUCED BY  
REP. ALFRED VARGAS 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING THE INCENTIVIZED SOLID WASTE REDEMPTION AND 
RECOVERY SYSTEMS, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE, 
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Republic Act No. 9003 otherwise known as the Ecological Solid Waste 
Management Act of 2000 provides for an ecological solid waste management 
program and a framework that creates necessary institutional mechanisms 
and incentives, declaring certain acts prohibited and providing penalties 
therefore. 
Under the law, local government units (LGUs) are also mandated to be 
primarily responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the 
provisions of the Solid Waste Management within their respective 
jurisdictions. 
However, rewards and incentives have limitations and must be 
innovated to adapt to the needs of the “new normal”. The social and 
economic climate brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has presented 
challenges on food security and environmental protection. The multitude of 
consumption in the pandemic has increased solid waste production and 
thus bringing up the need to properly organize solid waste management and 
segregation at the level of the household. 
In its efforts to aid its citizens economically amid the pandemic while 
also promoting efforts to save the environment, the Quezon City government 
has launched a point system program on waste management entitled the 
“Trash to Cashback” Program. 
July 6, 2021
8:01 am
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Under the “Trash to Cashback” Program, residents can trade their 
recyclable materials to environmental points which can be exchanged for 
basic commodities such as rice, eggs, vegetables, and other essential grocery 
items. 
This bill seeks to institutionalize innovative efforts to incentivize solid 
waste management and recycling through the exchange or rewarding of 
basic commodities such as rice, eggs, vegetables, canned goods, basic 
household consumer items, other essential grocery items, or even cash. 
This legislation further provides that the Department of Environment 
and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the 
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) shall determine the reasonable and 
compliance inducing exchange values for graduated weights or volumes of 
solid waste provided. 
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly 
sought.  
ALFRED VARGAS 


Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
INTRODUCED BY  
REP. ALFRED VARGAS 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING THE INCENTIVIZED SOLID WASTE REDEMPTION AND 
RECOVERY SYSTEMS, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE, 
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – The Act shall be known as the “Basura to Ayuda 
Act.”  
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the declared policy of the state to 
adopt a systematic, comprehensive, and ecological solid waste management 
program which shall: 
(a) Ensure the protection of the public health and environment;
(b) Utilizing environmentally-sound methods that maximize the utilization
of valuable resources and encourage resource conservation and
recovery;
(c) Set guidelines and targets for solid waste avoidance and volume
reduction 
through 
source 
reduction 
and 
waste 
minimization
measures, including composting, recycling, reuse, recovery, green
charcoal process, and others, before collection, treatment and disposal
in appropriate and environmentally sound solid waste management
facilities in accordance with ecologically sustainable development
principles;
(d) Ensure 
the 
proper 
segregation, 
collection, 
transport, 
storage
treatment, and disposal of solid waste through the formulation and
adoption of the best environmental practice in ecological waste
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management excluding incineration; 
 
(e) Promote national research and development programs for improved 
solid waste management and research conservation techniques, more 
effective institutional arrangement, and indigenous and improved 
methods of waste reduction, collection, separation, and recovery; 
 
(f) Encourage greater private sector participation in solid waste 
management; 
 
(g) Retain primary enforcement and responsibility of solid waste 
management with local government units while establishing a 
cooperative effort among the national government, other local 
government units, non-government organizations, and the private 
sector; 
 
(h) Encourage cooperation and self-regulation among waste generators 
through the application of market-based instruments; 
 
(i) Institutionalized 
public 
participation 
in 
the 
development 
and 
implementation of national and local integrated, comprehensive, and 
ecological waste management programs, and; 
 
(j) Strengthen the integration of ecological solid waste management and 
resource conservation and recovery topics into the academic curricula 
of formal and non-formal education in order to promote environmental 
awareness and action among the citizenry. 
 
 
SECTION 3. Incentivized Redemption of Solid Wastes. – The Department 
of Environment and Natural Resource, in collaboration with the Department 
of Agriculture and Department of Trade and Industry, is hereby authorized 
to establish the Incentivized Solid Waste Redemption System, whereby 
individuals, households, civic associations, parent-teachers associations, 
homeowners associations, and nonprofit institutions should be encouraged 
to gather and exchange collected non-hazardous and recyclable solid 
wastes, including but not limited to plastic bottles, wrappers, bags, sachets, 
metal canisters, unserviceable or used electrical and electronic devices, 
discarded hardware, and recyclable computer parts. 
 
 
 The solid wastes collected shall be exchanged for rice, water, canned 
goods, basic household consumer items, or cash. The DENR, DA, and DTI 
shall determine the reasonable and compliance-inducing exchange values 
for graduated weights or volumes of solid waste surrendered, provided that 
the minimum exchange value of one kilogram of non-hazardous and 
recyclable plastic waste is one kilogram of commercial quality rice or its 
cash equivalent, while for one kilogram of metallic, non-hazardous, 
recyclable waste is two kilograms of commercial quality rice or its cash 
equivalent. 


 
 
For hazardous waste recovery the DENR, DTI, and DA shall establish 
Hazardous Waste Recovery Protocols and Reporting System, through which 
individuals may report the exact location and details of the suspected 
hazardous waste, so that specially trained and equipped personnel or teams 
may be deployed to safely recover the conference hazardous waste. The 
Hazardous Waste Recovery Protocols and Reporting Systems will have a 
Cash Rewards feature to encourage the public to help government pinpoint 
and confirm the exact location of hazardous wastes. 
 
SECTION 4. Incentivized Systemic Recovery of Solid Wastes. – To 
encourage large-scale, corporate-level systematic recovery of solid wastes, 
the DNR, DTI, and Department of Finance are hereby mandated to jointly 
adopt the Carbon Credits system for reducing carbon emissions to the realm 
of solid waste recovery and reduction. 
 
 
These national government agencies shall also enable private 
corporations and government-owned or controlled corporations to establish 
special purpose corporations or joint ventures with a specific mission of 
redeeming and recovering plastic wastes. Enabling shall include a 
combination of mechanisms and incentives designed for corporate social 
responsibility programs and non-tax incentives. 
 
SECTION 5. Public Information, Education, and Communication. – to 
adequately inform the general public about the purposes, mechanisms, and 
incentives of this Act, the concerned agency shall conduct massive public 
information, education, and communication campaigns at the barangay 
level, in educational institutions, and at workplaces. 
 
SECTION 6. Implementing guidelines, Rules, and Regulations. – the 
Secretaries of Environment and Natural Resources, of Trade and Industry, 
of Agriculture, and of Finance shall jointly approve and issue, the 
implementing guidelines, rules and regulations within sixty (60) days from 
the effectivity of this Act. 
 
SECTION 7. Appropriations. – The annual budget to implement this Act 
shall be included in the regular or special appropriations of the concerned 
implementing agencies. 
 
SECTION 8. Separability. – If any provision or part of this Act is declared 
invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts are provisions not affected 
so continue to be in full force and effect. 
 
SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. – All laws, executive orders, and 
administrative orders or parts thereof inconsistent with any provision of this 
act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly. 
 
 
 


SECTION 10. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after 
following its publication in the online version of the Official Gazette or in two 
(2) newspapers of general circulation or with established Internet website 
presence. 
 
Approved,