Unsorted waste equals lawsuit

CEBU, Philippines - The office of the Cebu City Environment Sanitation and Enforcement Team (CESET) has warned it would sue barangay officials who continue to defy the waste segregation policy that the city government is now strictly enforcing.

CESET Chief Grace Luardo said they are serious in implementing the law, particularly by going after drivers and loaders of garbage trucks.

CESET over the weekend issued citation tickets to 182 garbage truck drivers, who include those detailed with the city Department of Public Services (DPS), for transporting unsegregated garbage to a private sanitary landfill in Consolacion town.

Luardo said they will start filing charges against violators of Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, starting March 8.

She said that for now, they are still just observing which barangays are complying with the provisions of RA 9003 and which are not.

“Pero sa karon, atong tan-aw kay naningkamot g’yud pud sila na mag-segregate na sa ilang mga basura og dili na madakpan. Daghan ganing sige og panawag sa opisina nag-inquire ug nangari ang mga drivers kauban ang ilang mga barangay officials para sa citation tickets. So di lang usa ta dayon mu-judge nila. Tagaan sa nato sila og seven days,” Luardo said.

She said the city has long been implementing its waste segregation policy and that it is just strengthening the enforcement now since many households and barangays seemed to have just ignored the law. She said the problem of unsegregated garbage is resurfacing.

Luardo said that instead of getting discouraged after being issued a citation ticket, the drivers and barangay officials should take it as a challenge to really implement the policy.

CESET has also tasked the respective barangay environmental officers (BEO) of the 80 Cebu City barangays to be really strict in issuing citation tickets to households that do not sort their garbage.

Those issued with citation tickets have to either pay a P500 fine or render community service.

It was last month when Mayor Michael Rama announced that the city would strictly implement RA 9003, the law that requires households and commercial establishments to separate or segregate biodegradable wastes from recyclable or reusable items.

Under the policy, biodegradable wastes are collected from homes every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, while non-biodegradable wastes are gathered during Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays.

After closing the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill, the city is paying P700 for every ton of garbage brought to a private landfill in Consolacion. (FREEMAN)