370 caught discharging waste into waterways

CITY HALL BEAT

Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY -- A total of 370 households and establishments had been caught illegally discharging wastewater and other discards like grease and used oil into the city’s waterways in 2022.
    Assistant City Environment and Parks Management Officer Marivic Empizo said all of them were issued notices of violations and were subjected to follow-through monitoring.
    Violators included households and establishments with leaking or overflowing septic tanks, illegal piggeries directly discharging wastewater to the sewer or canals and establishments that dump grease and used oil into the sewer.
     The CEMPO headed by Atty. Rhenan Diwas had constantly warned against discharging septage into the waterways to prevent pollution.
    Dumping of grease and used oil in the city's storm drains meanwhile constitutes violation of Republic Act 6969 or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990.
    The city has been receiving reports of restaurants and eateries discreetly disposing grease into the city's storm drains prompting Mayor Benjamin Magalong to order an investigation.
    The presence of grease deposits in drainage pipes is one of the determined causes of clogging of the water passageways that lead to flooding of streets as cooking oil deposits mixed with water, soil and waste materials solidify and form a compacted blockage that is difficult to dislodge.
    Establishments should comply with the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources pollution control requirements for hazardous waste disposal.  Said waste is to be collected and treated by the DENR's accredited contractor subject to permits to be issued by DENR Environment Management Bureau pursuant to RA 6969.
    Meanwhile, residents who continue to defy laws prohibiting hog-raising in the city were reminded anew that it is not allowed in highly urbanized cities like Baguio as per the city’s Environment Code, Republic Act 8749 or the Clean Air Act, Republic Act 9275 or the Philippine Water Act and Republic Act 9904 or the Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners Associations.
    Sanctions include demolition of pigpens, confiscation of hogs and filing of criminal charges.
    Diwas said the laws prohibit hog raising in the city due to the “perilous impact to river quality of direct discharge of wastewater, especially from the operation of piggeries within river easements.”
    Before the city implemented the total closure of piggeries in 2020, the city’s piggery population was at more than 700.  The number dwindled to more than 200 towards the deadline set by the city in January 2020.
    However, the business again thrived at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
    At present, the CEPMO has been monitoring and issuing closure notices to a number that still insist on operating.
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Still on waste, Baguio will mark Zero Waste Month with activities geared at enhancing people’s awareness of strategies on how to reduce if not avoid wastes to address the city’s problem on garbage management and on a larger scale, the resource depletion and climate crisis.    
    The activities will be spearheaded by the city through the City Solid Waste Management Board (CSWMB) chaired by Mayor Magalong in partnership with the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources Cordillera (DENR-CAR) and other public and private stakeholders.
    Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda, chair of the city council committee on health and sanitation, ecology and environmental protection and vice chair of the CSWMB said a Zero Waste Management Fair will be conducted on Jan. 26-27, 2023 at the Malcolm Square anchored on the theme, “Basura Mo, Bawasan Mo.”
    Pursuant to city council Resolution No. 31 series of 2023, it will be conducted in partnership with the Zero Waste Baguio Inc., Eco Waste Coalition and The Global Alliance for Incineration Alternatives and will feature booths on information-education-communication (IEC) materials and products of recycling and other solutions on solid wastes.
    It will include demonstrations on food waste reduction, composting and other solutions, book swapping, collection of electronic wastes and other household clutter that are still usable for distribution to those who still have need for them, a youth concert with free admission and free services particularly repair of used umbrellas and used shoes.
    Mayor Magalong encouraged residents to witness the fair “as there is much to learn on how each member of the society can help lessen the generation of waste and methane or greenhouse gas to mitigate the effects of climate change.”
    Tabanda said that as part of the month-long celebration, CSWMB will also work out the organization of the junkshop operators and recyclers group into a cooperative to help enhance their livelihood and their involvement in the achievement of the goals of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.  
    Another project will be the institutionalization of the household item collection and barter in the different barangay districts which will not only help families de-clutter and discard the things that they no longer need but also find items that they need from the discards of others instead of buying new ones.  This system is a practical way to reduce household wastage.
    “Waste management is everyone’s concern and community involvement is the key to solve the waste problem,” the mayor said.