DAGUPAN CITY – The garbage generated in this city has been drastically reduced by 80 percent, according to the city government’s waste management division.
Reginaldo Ubando, WMD chief, said that his office used to collect about 400 cubic meters of solid waste every month in 2005. But last year, he said, it collected only about 80 cubic meters a month.
“This is really a big waste reduction and it gave us big savings and allowed us to do more work,” Ubando said.
He attributed the solid waste reduction to the city’s “serious” implementation of RA 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
The law mandates, among others, waste segregation in every household; the recycling and composting of wastes in the barangay level; and the collection of residuals– wastes that cannot be recycled or composted—by the municipal or city government.
“I think is only our city that was able to implement the law on a citywide scale,” Ubando said.
As a result, he said, the city government also saved on diesel fuel for its garbage trucks and other equipment used in the operation of its controlled dumpsite in Bonuan Tondaligan here.
“In 2005, we were consuming about 9,000 liters of diesel fuel per month. But last year, we only used 2,000 liters, which means the city government saved millions of pesos,” Ubando said.
“At the same time, we were able to use our personnel in other areas, like were now starting to focus on our rivers,” he said.
The river clean up, he added, is in support of the city government’s plan to export milkfish, its main product.
“I think waste segregation has sunk into the consciousness of most Dagupenos,” Ubando said.
He said that the people have realized that recyclables can be sold and they are now keeping these to themselves to eventually sell them. Others have been on a small-scale composting of the bio-degradable wastes and have been using them for their backyard gardens.
Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez said that his office is funding a composting machine for a barangay here so that it can produce enough organic fertilizers for its demonstration farm.
The city government has so far built 11 materials recovery facilities (MRF) in 11 of the 31 barangays of the city. “But we hope to build 11 more this year,” Ubando said.
“Our aim really is to make every household as an MRF. This way, people will earn money and at the same time, they are environment-friendly,” Ubando said.
