Barangays, key to successful solid waste management
IF TRASH were strictly segregated at the household level, a responsibility that rests on barangay officials, more than half of the garbage problem in the province would be solved.
This was reiterated by Rowena Dela Cruz, head of the Provincial Waste Management Division, as she urged barangay chairmen and other elected barangay officers to ardently perform their tasks in solid waste management.
Under Republic Act 9003, the Solid Waste Management Act, barangays have the responsibility of recycling, composting and segregating wastes that accounts for about 70 percent of the garbage.
The municipality or the city then takes charge of the residuals that comprise around 20 percent of the garbage.
However, Dela Cruz admitted that many local government units remain non-compliant serving to aggravate the province’s mounting waste and garbage disposal problems
The LGUs have been warned that operation of open dumpsites are already deemed illegal at this time.
SANITARY LANDFILL
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the law mandates the operation of a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) or sanitary landfills and eco parks as the alternative.
Dela Cruz also dismissed the LGUs’ claim that a sanitary landfill costs so much that most municipalities cannot afford it.
If funding is a problem, Dela Cruz said the provincial government and DENR can provide technical assistance while government banks like the Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines can extend loans for the purpose.
She said LGUs could also implement alternative technologies that can turn garbage into something productive and useful. (Venus H. Sarmiento, PIA-Pangasinan)
The National Solid Waste Management Council is presently monitoring local government units with open dumpsites.
MRF OPTION
“Mag-uumpisa sa simpleng pamamaraan gaya ng pagtabon ng lupa, lagyan ng singawan ng gas para hindi sumabog saka tabunan uli ng lupa, tamnan ng halaman. Meron ng MRF at composting facility,” Dela Cruz explained.
The MRF, which does not necessarily have to cover a large space, can house the segregated recyclables and even the compostables as long as a composting facility is installed nearby.
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