Trash collection rule to resume next month

The “No segregation, No collection” of garbage policy in Cebu City will be implemented in March, not this month, as announced earlier.

Nida Cabrera, chairperson of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), said several urban barangays have requested for more time to orient residents of the heightened policy.

Orientation in Barangays Carreta, San Roque, Tejero and Kalunasan began immediately after the Sinulog Festival.

“Nibalik mi og orientation sa mga barangays kay daghan ni-request nga orientation una. Nagsabot nami sa Department of Public Services (DPS) nga March 1 nami mu-start kay magmeeting pa pod sila sa garbage collector and loaders,” Cabrera said.

The DPS also started posting posters and distributing flyers in November last year.

By March 1, Barangay Environmental Officers will start issuing citation tickets to those that fail to segregate their trash.

Violators will be fined at least P500 and up to P3,000.

First time offenders will be fined P500; second time offenders will be fined P1,000; and third time offenders will be fined P3,000. In all three levels, violators will be made to do community service.

The public will be required to classify their trash biodegradable, nonbiodegradable, residual, or special.

The city is implementing the policy in an attempt to reduce the 600 tons of trash it disposes at a private landfill in Consolacion town. Smaller volume would mean lesser expense for hauling operation.

The city has allocated P300 million for garbage collection this year but it hopes not to use the money up completely.

The city started dumping its garbage in Consolacion after the landfill Barangay Inayawan was shut down in December 2016.

Last year, the city spent P312.5 million for hauling operation.

Of this amount, P9.2 million was spent in December 2016, P25.5 million was spent in January 2017, P75 million was spent from February to April, P12 million was spent from April to May, P40 million was spent from May to July, P26.8 million was spent in August, and P124 million was spent from September to December.

The segregation policy is in compliance of Republic Act 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act.

Biodegradable wastes will be collected on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday while non-biodegradable wastes and residual wastes will be collected on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

Collection of special wastes will be announced as it will be handled by the Transporter and Treatment, Storage and Disposal (TSD) facility registered with the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)-7.

Special wastes include, among others, hazardous waste, pollution control waste, industrial process waste, or infectious medical waste (PIMW).

It was in 2011 when the city started to implement the “No Segregation, No Collection” policy but the same was not enforced effectively. In 2014, the enforcement was stopped.

Cabrera is hopeful the enforcement will be successful this time around.

"With the cooperation sa mga barangays, masuccessful ta kay dapat sila man unta ang una nga mo-implement. Will still continue using education campaign and enforcement," she said.