MRF pressed to ease Sagada trash problems

By Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- A meeting among barangay officials  here at the Sangguniang Bayan office  last week  moved for full establishment of  the  materials recovery facility with  the  purchase of grinders including a  pulverizer and a shredder to  ease  this tourist  town’s garbage problem.

The meeting chaired by vice mayor Richard Yodong was attended by barangay officials from the   19 barangays and other concerned residents of the town.   

 Barangay Patay chairman Billy Baldo said there was a need for the purchase of a pulverizer to   grind non- biodegradable waste not accepted in junk shops.  

Barangay Patay is located within the main center of the town including nearby Dagdag barangay locating restaurants and hotels where styrofoams and mineral water bottles are main waste materials left by customers. 

Sagada Poblacion also hosts the Saturday market days where waste is accumulated from vegetable and fruit wastes including plastic materials.  

A shredder was also identified as another need in said meeting.

It had been noted that waste mismanagement is a noticeable site with plastic materials strewn on the main town’s thoroughfares, plastic waste dumped in rivers, and improper waste disposal by the local government unit at a dumpsite along Calvary Hill with biodegradable and degradable waste mixed together.   

Yodong said an MRF site was already halfway established by the LGU with a building and a tank built last year following negotiation with authorities of the church of St Mary the Virgin for the use of the MRF site.  The needed equipment are not yet available however as of press time.  

It was learned that municipal engineer Siano Baldo who was then present during the meeting present the barangay  officials’ proposals to the office of Mayor Eduardo LatawanJr for his action.  

In the same development, barangay officials were one in forwarding the conduct of barangay-based waste management system with households segregating bottles and plastic to be collected by Poblacion resident Gang-aw Degay who manages a junk shop. 

Degay said that he can collect waste bottles and plastic materials on schedule.

Indigenous Peoples representative to the Sanggunian Jaime Dugao said monitoring is a crucial need among barangay officials to ensure effectivity of barangay initiatives.  

Proper waste management was consciously observed by  community folks with the support of the LGU  some ten to 15  years ago under the leadership of  former mayor  Thomas Killip resulting  to the  town having reaped  awards consecutively for being clean and green municipality  and reached a hall of  fame  status,  but slackened in the past  six  years.