Garbage still a problem in Baguio City; plans aired

BAGUIO CITY – Garbage disposal is still a major problem of the city government here even as Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said the city government will address the problem even if initial solutions are already in place.

          

The local chief executive bared this after the city council approved the proposed purchase of two compactors that would help in significantly reducing the volume of residual waste being hauled out of the city and save on manpower and government resources for the purpose.

            

“We will not stop looking for complementary solutions to our garbage problem so that we will be able to effectively and efficiently address the solid waste management problem caused by the rapid growth in the city’s population in the coming years,” Domogan said.

He added establishment of an engineered sanitary landfill in the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT) area will continue to benefit local governments.

            

Aside from the existing operation of its two Environmental Recycling System (ERS) machines capable of converting around 48 tons of biodegradable waste into high-grade compost fertilizer daily, the city government plans to purchase two compactor trucks that are capable of handling around three truckloads of residual waste thereby helping reduce the volume of waste being hauled to the engineered sanitary landfill in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan.

            

Domogan said the city solid waste management board is also currently evaluating several proposals on waste-to-energy which will complement the existing programs on solid waste collection and disposal that could eventually result in the abandonment of the hauling of waste outside the city and the utilization of the power produced by the city’s waste for public purposes among others.

            

According to him, waste segregators who earn income from the non-biodegradable waste that they collect from the 19 collection stations in the city will still continue to earn their income even if all the appropriate interventions on solid waste management will be put in place because they will still be sorting out the garbage in the barangays.

            

With the projected purchase of two compactor trucks, Domogan said there will be slight change in the garbage disposal system whereby the segregation of waste will still be done at source before the secondary segregation at the barangay level before the same will be transferred to the collection stations.

            

Domogan said the overall success of the city’s garbage collection and disposal concerns lies on cooperation of local residents in segregation of garbage at source and bringing out of their segregated waste only during the scheduled collection days in their barangays.

            

The city mayor said despite the limited garbage trucks being used for the collection of waste in the 19 collection stations, the city is able to collect the garbage during the scheduled collection days although there are some delays which are not deliberate, thus, the need for understanding among the residents in the different parts of the city. -- Dexter A. See