TACLOBAN CITY (CIO) — The City Government of Tacloban under the leadership of Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez is set to adopt a 3 phase plan to lengthen the ‘holding capacity’ of its Sanitary Landfill in Barangay San Roque and improve garbage collection and segregation.

In a meeting held Thursday at the City Hall, attended by officials of 15 offices , among them the City Environment and Natural Resources Office, City Planning and Development Office, City Treasurer’s office and City Information Office it was learned that the local government is mobilizing to implement a 3-phase plan to ‘preserve’ the Sanitary landfill and improve its garbage collection and segregation at source through a massive Information Education Campaign, and impose stricter penalties provided under RA 9003 (or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act), on uncooperative residents and derelict garbage contractors.

The massive info campaign will be in partnership with Mother Earth Foundation (MEF); a non-government organization previously tapped by the local government for its solid waste management initiatives and was partly instrumental in the Average tonnage drop of garbage collected in Tacloban.

The renewed campaign plans to tap businesses and schools to join the city in its waste segregation efforts.

An average of 113 tons of trash is collected in Tacloban daily; 65% of which is biodegradable and 22% of it is residual. Residual waste should end up at the landfill.

Opened last six months ago, the Php 80 million Sanitary Landfill, which was projected to last 8 to 10 years, is already one third filled up to the 5-meter mark, as a result of the non-compliance of some garbage collectors and barangays to the solid waste segregation policy, reported the City Environment and Natural Resources Office(CENRO).

CENRO said that if not strictly regulated the multimillion garbage facility will only last 3 years.

On the other hand, the City Government is also studying some proposals to further improve its solid waste management system.

Meanwhile, a Tacloban Solid Waste Management Summit will take place on September 24, 2019, for the dissemination of the action plan among barangay officials. The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing with MEF and introduction of the “No Plastic” Ordinance sponsored by Councilor Aimee Grafil will also highlight the event. – H.J. Roca/ CIO

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Photos: C. Gojar/CMO