THE Cebu Provincial Board (PB) approved over P26 million in cash aid to to local government units in the province for the construction of material recovery facilities (MRF).
An MRF is supposed to be set up in each barangay to promote waste segregation and recycling.
PB Member Christopher Baricuatro, author of several resolutions granting the assistance, said the funds were released to all cities and towns except for those in the 6th district.
“All 51 cities and municipalities received the aid. The only difference is that the funds did not pass through the LGU because it was awarded directly to the contractor,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 defines a MRF as a “facility designed to receive, sort, process, and store compostable and recyclable materials efficiently and in an environmentally sound manner.”
An MRF receives biodegradable waste for composting and mixed non-biodegradable wastes for final segregation, reuse and recycling, provided that each type of mixed waste is collected from the source and transported to the plant in separate containers.
Household waste that are sorted out in the MRF includes plastics, cardboard, paper, and metal scraps.
Daanbantayan in northern Cebu will receive P1.13 million for the construction of two MRFs in the town.
The towns of San Francisco, Poro, Tudela, and Pilar on Camotes Islands will get P563,425.43 each for their own facilities. Seven other 5th district LGUs in the mainland will receive P527,144.89 each.
The island towns of Santa Fe, Madridejos, and Bantayan will each receive P573,420.06 while the mainland towns of Tabuelan, San Remigio, Medellin, Tabogon, and Bogo City in the 4th district will each get P548,814.34.
Each LGU in the 3rd district will get P535,406.36 each while those in the 2nd district will each receive P525,349.13.
LGUs in the 1st district, on the other hand, will get P521,007.58 each.
Section 32 of RA 9003 mandates the establishment of an MRF in each barangay or cluster of barangays .