PIA Press Release
Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Davao’s solid waste segregation policy yields lesser wastes

DAVAO CITY, Jan. 03 (PIA) -- The city’s mandatory segregation of solid wastes policy has brought about the decline in garbage collection by 100 tons daily for the last few months last year.

City Environment and Natural Resources Officer Atty. Joseph Dominic Felizarta said that the “No segregation, No collection” policy gained a recent waste collection of 380 tons per day from the 480 tons collected per day at the start of the policy’s implementation.

Prior to the execution of the mandatory waste segregation which was on July 1 of 2011, waste collections reached to 600 to 700 tons per day.

However, Felizarta reported to the local media here during Monday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw that the collection in December last year reached to 385 tons per day due to the holiday activities.

He also said they were not strict executing the segregation policy on December 24 and during New Year’s day.

With the stringent implementation of the waste segregation under the city’s Ecological Solid Waste Management Ordinance of 2009, Felizarta disclosed that already 1,600 violators have been apprehended.

The figure included the 90 violators who were arrested for the period of December 1-23, 2011.

Felizarta said 400 cases have also been filed against the violators for non-segregation of wastes. He said that one violator was convicted after he/she pleaded guilty, and was fined P1,000.

“Others will follow as summons has already been issued to them,” Felizarta stated.

Under Section 10 of the solid waste management ordinance, “the segregation of waste at source by generators as household and all establishments is mandatory.”

The penalty for violating this particular provision is a fine of P300.00 and mandatory seminar in the first offense.

The second-time offenders are required to pay a fine of P500.00 or five-day community service, while the third-time violators will have to pay a penalty of P1,000 or ten-day community service.

For the 4th and succeeding offense, violators shall be prosecuted in court with a maximum penalty of P5,000 or six months imprisonment if convicted. (PIA-11/Carina L. Cayon)