New garbage collection scheme starts

The Iloilo city government will implement a strict ‘no segregation, no collection' policy in garbage collection at the City Proper starting today, March 1 st .

Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, who made this declaration yesterday, added that the City Proper District will be the pilot area for the implementation of this scheme. The district is home to a great number of commercial establishments and ranks as the top garbage producer citywide. The plan is designed to reduce the bulk of garbage being deposited at the Calajunan dumpsite, the mayor stressed.

On the other hand, General Services Office assistant head Raul Gallo said that under the ‘no segregation, no collection' policy, residents and businesses in the 45 City Proper District barangays are required to segregate their garbage first before these can be collected for dumping at the Calajunan site.

To make the pilot scheme effective, Gallo said a total of 25 dump trucks will be stationed at various places in the City Proper area at particular times of the day. The trucks will be stationary for about 30 minutes while waiting to load segregated garbage from residents and establishments.

The segregated recyclable garbage will be collected every Monday, Wednesday and Friday while biodegradable wastes will be collected every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

Gallo explained that personnel will be assigned to check the trash before it can be loaded in the trucks to ensure that the garbage brought to the truck are residue only after segregation was done at source.

Meanwhile, to guarantee the success of the scheme and ensure compliance to the policy, Treñas ordered the Office of Public Services to monitor its implementation at the pilot district. ( Adora Bandorio /PIO)