Sagada trash still a problem; MRF soon to be functional

By Gina Dizon
SAGADA Mountain Province -- A grinder is set to be bought for the non-functioning materials recovery facility built here a year ago at SitioMakamkamlis of Poblacion barangay.

Mayor Eduardo LatawanJr, in an interview said purchase of a pulverizer was budgeted for 2013. The need for a pulverizer was specially identified by PoblacionPatay barangay captain Billy Baldo during a meeting of barangay chairmen last week with the Sangguniang Bayan.

Latawan also said necessary repairs to make the MRF functional including cementing of the immediate surroundings of the MRF shall be considered to make the MRF functional.

To address the garbage problem especially in the Poblacion, Latawan said jobs shall be created for waste management. It had been observed that at the center of the town, plastic wrappers were strewn on the streets and a nearby dumpsite where waste was indiscriminately dumped for burning posing threat on the environment.

It was noted that rivers were dumped with plastic bags of solid waste eventually flowing to Uud creek towards southern Sagada.

Constituents of the southern barangays have complained of contaminated river waters which found their way to irrigation and drinking source for carabaos.

In the same interview, the mayor was asked his action on the closure of the dumpsite at Calvary Hill by the Church of St Mary the Virgin following a letter to the mayor informing him of indiscriminate dumping.

Latawan urged the Vestry to give ample time for the location of another site.

The town executive also called for cooperation of all constituents of the town with the local government in managing the town’s waste.