by Jeanevive Duron-Abangan

Tagum City (21 July) -- The Provincial Government Center of Davao del Norte will soon become a model site showcasing concerted efforts among government agencies to push forward solid waste management.

Provincial Solid Waste Management Coordinator and Assistant Department Head Geronimo Agustin of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) said this could happen through the cooperation of government offices within the government center.

"Usa ta magsugod ug sulti sa uban, unahon usa nato diri. (Before we can ask others, we should start here.)," he said.

Located in Barangay Mankilam, Tagum City, the Provincial Government Center of Davao del Norte is the site of government buildings of some national line agencies and key provincial government offices.

Agustin likened the Provincial Government Center as the nation and each office therein as barangays which he expected to do their share of managing waste disposal in line with the solid waste management thrust of the national government.

"In that way, we can showcase the Provincial Government Center as a model site of solid waste management," Agustin said.

PENRO recently called for a meeting of designated focal persons coming from government offices including national agencies located within the Provincial Government Center by virtue of Memorandum Circular No. 010 dated April 6, 2010 signed by Provincial Governor Rodolfo P. del Rosario.

In the circular, Del Rosario has asked national and provincial government offices to designate a focal person for Ecological Solid Waste Management Program.

A total of 59 responded, and 22 of them were coming from the provincial offices of national government line agencies.

During the meeting, Agustin briefed them on what to do with their generated wastes, and that he discussed the importance of segregating wastes into biodegradable, recyclable and residual.

Agustin said the Provincial General Services Office will collect wastes daily but it would leave behind those that would not be segregated.

"It's a way of penalizing the office. So, we really have to segregate to get rid of our wastes," he said.

He was hopeful that the estimated 60 kilos of daily waste collection would go down by 10 percent to 15 percent within the year now that focal persons on SWM had been grouped together.

The biodegradable will serve as food for the cultured Vermi of PENRO, the recyclable will be stored at the material recovery facility of the province while the residual wastes will be turned over to the city government of Tagum.