Consolacion imposes waste segregation policy

Residents of Consolacion town will now have to segregate their garbage, otherwise garbage collectors will no longer collect their garbage,

The Municipal Government of Consolacion has imposed a “No Segregation, No Collection” policy for its waste starting Saturday, December 1, along with a new schedule of the hauling of garbage.

Biodegradable waste will now be collected every Monday, Wednesday and Friday while non biodegradable products will be collected in the remaining days of the week.

“Our Sanitation Code has been there for a long time; but we found it hard to implement it until such time that I have strengthened the campaign and called onbarangay captains telling them to impose the penalties,” said Consolacion Mayor
Teresa Alegado.

Alegado said she has received a warning from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Central Office directing her to implement the sanitation code and RA 9003 or Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

Alegado said the implementation did not push through on November 25 because some barangay captains asked her for an extension since some of the garbage trucks were still due for repair.

Last week, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Martin Diño announced in that the agency will sue mayors and barangay captains who fail to implement proper waste management in their locality.

The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 requires mayors and village chiefs to establish a material recovery facility (MRF) in every barangay or locality.

DILG-Cebu Province head Jerome Gonzales however said that the local offices have yet to receive any mandate from the central office regarding monitoring and imposing disciplinary actions of chief executives who fail to comply with the Solid Waste Management Law.

Alegado clarified that the threat of DILG to sue chief executives who fail to implement the solid waste management law had nothing to do with their move to impose the “no segregation, no collection” policy.

The “No Segregation, No Collection” policy, she said, is part of their 10-year solid waste management plan which they submitted to the DILG in compliance with the requirement of SGLG.

Alegado added that they are still working on constructing an MRF in every barangay.

At present, barangays bring their waste to the town’s sanitary landfill.

Consolacion is the only LGU in Cebu that has a sanitary landfill accredited by the EMB after the landfills in the cities of Mandaue and Cebu had been ordered closed.