Hospital, patients share burden in waste disposal

TAGBILARAN CITY ,Philippines  —Sharing of responsibility between the hospital management and the patients in waste disposal is now practiced at the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH), a non-devolved tertiary hospital still under the Department of Health.

A patient's relative who made a visit here last week told The FREEMAN that the management of the hospital had their patients gather their wastes, such as plastic wrappers or cellophane they generated during their confinement and bring them home. She said this was the first time to happen.

The move came in as an offshoot of the city government policy declared by Mayor Dan Neri-Lim after he closed the dump site in barangay Dampas for environmental and health reasons.

GCGMH's Dr. Edgar Pizarras, in an interview yesterday, confirmed the move of the hospital management, saying this has to be done for the meantime while they cannot throw the wastes generated by the hospital in the dumpsite yet.

Pizarra clarified however that the hospital's management was only "encouraging" the patients to have a share in rubbish disposal because of the prevailing condition about the closed dump site.

Asked if the incinerator machine long before acquired by the hospital is being used, he said no, explaining that it could not be used because the law disallows it.

On where the hospital throws its wastes accumulated every day, Pizarra did not answer however.

The mayor decided to close the dump to abort the worse case scenario following the non-stop gathering and scattering of recyclable solid wastes in the site by scavengers.

In his radio program, Lim said he has been exerting efforts to solve the problem. His office has been scouting also for available heavy equipment to set properly the garbage in the dump site, adding that he has been eyeing to rent equipment operated by the provincial government if the latter accedes.

Governor Edgar Chatto, also airing his concern over the waste disposal problem, said he would allow the city government to lease the provincial equipment if needed.

The city badly needs a unit of bulldozer and a unit of backhoe or similar equipment for proper garbage piling in the dump, the report said.

The city is also reportedly appropriating funds for the repair and maintenance of its own fleet of garbage trucks, some of which have bogged down.

Garbage trucks and equipment are very vulnerable to faster deterioration than normal because of the toxic wastes they carry daily.