DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/7 June) – Starting July 1, Davaoeños will have to segregate their garbage as the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) will start implementing the “no segregation, no collection” policy.
Dolores Remojo, environment chair of CENRO, made the announcement on the implementation of the city ordinance for ecological solid waste manangement during the Kapihan sa Dabaw press forum at SM City Davao on Monday.
Last May 3, the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the city’s Ecological Solid Waste Management Ordinance of 2009 was approved and signed by Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. The ordinance is in line with Republic Act 9003, the Act Providing for Ecological Solid Waste Management Program.
Out of 182 barangays in the city, 103 are accessible to garbage collectors. The rest could not avail of the service due to distance.
But Remojo said CENRO is working out to provide the service to all barangays.
She said that 95 of barangays have already been visited by the CENRO’s information education communication (IEC) teams. The IEC teams are actively going to the different barangays to orient officials on their participation, forming their respective barangay solid waste management committees.
Provisions related to the solid waste management plan, reduction and banning of the use of certain non-biodegradable products, proper disposal of carcass and excreta of animals, segregation of solid waste, collection and transport, materials recovery and processing, the IEC campaign, and penalties to be imposed are just some points tackled in the said ordinance.
Penalties in violating the ordinance include fines ranging from P300 to P5,000, community service, and imprisonment as long as six months.
As her closing note in the press forum, Remojo called for all the sectors in the city to cooperate in practicing waste segregation, where she said the initiative would not be successful without them. (JB J. Tingzon / MindaNews)