The Bacolod City government will re-implement the “no segregation, no collection” policy tentatively on March 15 in preparation for the operation of the sanitary landfill by the second quarter of this year, Councilor Mona Dia Jardin said yesterday.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, Councilor Al Victor Espino, chairman of the Committee on Environment, Solid Waste Management board and technical working group, Jardin, who is the Association of Barangay Captains president, and 44 barangays captains, went on an educational tour February 20 to 21 to Bayawan City, Negros Occidental that has a successful SWS program.

Leonardia said “In as much as a big portion of our Solid Waste Management Program is anchored on the barangays, especially in the collection aspect, which is supposed to be the primary responsibility of the barangays, Jardin had been requested to join the trip with the barangay captains.”

He said they looked for a model, and Jardin chose Bayawan City that has proven and tested program.

“The best learning we can get is through the experiences of other people,” Jardin said.

Leonardia said that before they went to Bayawan, they were conscious that the circumstances there were different from those of Bacolod since. In terms of population, it has only over 100,000, while Bacolod has over 500,000 and its land area is four times the size of Bacolod.

“However, we believe there were certain principles that could possibly be applied here,” he said.

Jardin said Bayawan’s sanitary landfill has been operational for almost two years. It has 28 barangays while Bacolod has 61, she said.

“We brought the barangay captains, since the success of our SWM program will rely mostly on the barangays,” Jardin said. Segregation at source must start in the barangays as provided in Republic Act 9003, she also said.

Jardin said the trip inspired the barangay captains and they are planning to conduct tree-planting activities in Bacolod’s sanitary landfill like what they saw in Bayawan.

In Bayawan, they do not pick up garbage that are not segregated. They only have five tons of garbage a day, while Bacolod has 150-220 tons a day, she added.

She said they will also implement a uniform barangay ordinance that will impose penalties on households that do not segregate garbage. Several barangays have conducted public hearings on the matter, she added.*CGS

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