On January 26, 2001, the Government of the Philippines signed into law the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (R.A. 9003). This law requests all local government units (LGUs) to establish an ecological solid waste management program within their jurisdiction. The law also provides for the necessary institutional mechanisms to attain its objectives. R.A. 9003 addresses the problems of environmental degradation and pollution resulting from refuse dumps and the consequent loss of resources caused by steadily increasing volumes of waste.

To date, however, enforcement of and compliance with R.A. 9003 has been ineffective due to technical, organizational and financial shortcomings in government agencies and tasked LGUs.