The city government has implemented the waste segregation policy as it closed the 2.6-hectare open dumpsite in Barangay Dampas in consonance with the Ecological Solid Waste Management Law.
The City Solid Waste Management Officer (CSWMO) will no longer collect biodegradable waste materials from households starting this week.
CSWMO Head Lito Taladua said the garbage collectors will only collect residual wastes such as sanitary napkins, disposable diapers, styropor, soiled tissue papers, sachets and candy wrappers as these are the only waste materials that will be accepted at the Alburquerque Cluster Sanitary Landfill (ACSLF).
Biodegradables like left-over food will no longer be left out in the garbage collection.
According to Taladua, the ACSLF will only accept residual waste stuffed into sacks and will turn back garbage trucks carrying other types of wastes.
Residual waste is waste that remains after recycling, reusing and rotting, and is the only garbage the ACSLF will accept.
Taladua called on the city residents to practice separation of different materials found in solid waste at their homes as mandated by RA 9003 known as the “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
Segregation at source will reduce the volume of waste for collection and disposal, Taladua added.
The city government finally closed the open dumpsite in barangay Dampas last week and waste materials from Tagbilaran will be brought to the ACSLF.
Taladua added that the Dampas open dumpsite is now in the process of rehabilitation for it to cease as a health hazard to the nearby neighborhood.
The open dumpsite which has been the disposal site for more than 50 tons of solid and domestic wastes daily from Tagbilaran City’s 105,051 city residents will be converted into an environmentally sound solid waste management facility,” according toTaladua.
The plans include the construction of an administration building, a bio-composting and final sorting facilities to ensure segregation, collection, transport, storage, treatment and disposal of solid wastes.
The Bohol Environmental Management Office (BEMO) earlier estimated that 9,452 kilograms of wastes are generated daily and this time, they will be disposed at the ACSLF, 17 kilometers from the city.
The city will be spending more than P12,000 a week after the ACSLF cluster board headed by Alburquerque Mayor Efren Tungol agreed to peg the disposal or tipping fee at P1,300/ton.
Taladua advised households to properly place all their biodegradable wastes in a compost pit, because the garbage collectors will also leave out the recyclable wastes like newspaper, bottles and tin cans.
“Each household should bring these reusable items to the junk shops and fines for violators range from P300 to P3,000,”Taladua said.
LAW PROHIBITS OPEN DUMPSITES
Moreover, open dumpsites had long been prohibited by Republic Act 9003 or the “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
In lieu of open dumpsites where all types of waste materials are dumped all together, RA 9003 requires the establishment of sanitary landfills.
Section 17(h) under Article 1 of RA 9003 provides: Open dump sites shall not be allowed as final disposal sites. If an open dump site is existing within the city or municipality, the plan shall make provisions for its closure or eventual phase out within the period specified under the framework and pursuant to the provisions under Sec. 37 of this Act. As an alternative, sanitary landfill sites shall be developed and operated as a final disposal site for solid and, eventually, residual wastes of a municipality or city or a cluster of municipalitIies and/or cities. Sanitary landfills shall be designed and operated in accordance with the guidelines set under Secs. 40 and 41 of this Act.
The law also defines open dump as the “disposal area wherein the solid wastes are indiscriminately thrown or disposed of without due planning and consideration for environmental and health standards”.
Article 2 of RA 9003 which is on segregation of wastes provides for mandatory segregation of solid wastes.
Section 21 of the law, under Article 2, allows LGUs to “evaluate alternative roles for the public and private sectors in providing collection services, type of collection system, or a combination of systems, that best meet their needs”.
Section 21, however, is clear that the system must ensure that “segregation of wastes shall primarily be conducted at the source, to include household, institutional, industrial, commercial and agricultural sources.
“For premises containing six or more residential units, the local government unit shall promulgate regulations requiring the owner or person in charge of such premises to: provide for the residents a designated area and containers in which to accumulate source separated recyclable materials to be collected by the municipality or private center; and notify the occupants of each buildings of the requirements of this Act and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto,” as provided in RA 9003.
Section 22 of the law provides for the minimum standards and requirements for segregation and storage of solid waste pending collection.
“There shall be a separate container for each type of waste from all sources provided that in the case of bulky waste, it will suffice that the same be collected and placed in a separate designated area; and the solid waste container depending on its use shall be properly marked or identified for on-site collection as ‘compostable’, ‘non-recyclable’, ‘recyclable’ or ‘special waste’, or any other classification as may be determined by the Commission,” as further stated in Section 22 of the law.