Uncollected garbage along P. Del Rosario Extension at Barangay Sambag 1 beside the University of San Carlos – South Campus entrance.
CDN Photo/Junjie Mendoza
WASTE SEGREGATION
About 220 households in Cebu City’s 42 urban barangays were unable to comply with the city government’s “no segregation, no collection” policy on garbage disposal on the first day of its implementation yesterday.
But Nida Cabrera, chief of Cebu City Hall’s Environmental and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) said they were let off the hook after promising to comply with the program.
“We were about to issue citation tickets but they asked that they start segregating their garbage tomorrow (Friday). So our BEOs (Barangay Environmental Officers) issued a warning to them,” Cabrera said.
Cabrera said these households were asked to commit their compliance to the program through a written agreement. She said their BEOs went house to house to check for the compliance of households in segregating their garbage.
“Our BEOs will check on these households again and if they fail to comply today (Friday) then they will be issued tickets,” Cabrera said in Cebuano.
Fedilla Gambuta, a resident of Barangay Sambag 1, said she had been segregating her garbage even before the policy took effect yesterday.
“Wala man mi problema ani. May lang g’yud mosunod ning uban sa kaning policy (I don’t have any problem with it. I hope our neighbors will follow this policy),” she said. Cebu City Ordinance No. 2031 mandates the segregation of trash at the source.
Under the policy, residents should segregate their garbage into four separate portions: biodegradable, non-biodegradable, residual waste, and special waste.
Biodegradable waste are left over food, fruits, or vegetables and papers while non-biodegradable waste refer to canned goods, utensils, bottles, styrofoam, and plastics.
Residual waste consist of napkins, diapers, rags, and tissues while special waste include batteries, paints, bulbs, machines, gadgets, and cellphones.
Violators are fined P500 and will be required to perform community service or face one to six months imprisonment.
Biodegradable waste will be collected on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. Non-biodegradable and residual waste will be collected on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Sundays on the same time.
Residual waste should be placed in separate bags with non-biodegradable waste. A schedule for special waste collection has yet to be announced.