3,000 volunteers tapped to police Baguio folk on waste management

BAGUIO CITY – More than 3,000 volunteers mostly composed of barangay officials and tanods were tapped by the city government to strictly monitor compliance of households to Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, particularly segregation of waste at source, to improve the city’s garbage collection and disposal system.

Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan cited support of volunteers to monitor compliance of households to the segregation of waste at source is a welcome development to the local government to enhance its garbage collection and disposal to satisfactorily comply with the lawful provisions although the city government has already been complying with RA 9003 several years ago.

With the revised garbage collection system which will be a 2-truck system, one intended for biodegradable waste and another purposely for non-biodegradable waste, the city mayor pointed out barangay officials, tanods and purok leaders will strictly monitor the compliance of households to the segregation of waste during scheduled collection days so that the generated biodegradable waste will be immediately fed to the two Environmental Recycling System (ERS) machines based at the Irisan controlled dump facility while the non-biodegradable waste will be deposited in a transfer station before being hauled out of Baguio by Protech Machinery Corporation to its plant in Rosales, Pangasinan.

Aside from strictly monitoring compliance of households to the segregation process, barangay officials were also tasked to identify the collection points in their places while installing appropriate signages that will serve as the guide of people in the dumping of their generated household waste.

According to Domogan, the 48-ton accumulated capacity of the ERS machines to convert biodegradable waste into high grade compost fertilizer is not being maximized because of more mixed waste being collected from the barangays, thus, the need for more time and manpower to segregate the mixed waste before being fed into the ERS machines while the non-biodegradable waste will be hailed out of the city pursuant to the commitment of Protect in its 10-year contract with the local government.

The local chief executive said once volunteers will pinpoint those who are not complying with the waste segregation, their names will be submitted to the city government for filing of violation of the provisions of RA 9003 in order to teach them a lesson so that they will be forced to adhere to the waste segregation.

Volunteers will also be tightly guarding the tributaries of creeks, rivers and streams so that unscrupulous households will not dump their unsegregated waste in waterways which contribute to the worsening pollution of bodies of waters, thus, combined efforts will help the city regain its cleanliness and greenery.

Domogan said it is high time for the local government to make the people feel that city officials have the will to discipline unscrupulous households who refuse to adhere to the solid waste management laws. -- Dexter A. See