POLICEMEN in Iloilo City accepted the challenge in making their facility environment-friendly and have agreed to equip their first police camp outside Metro Manila to have a Material Recovery Facility (MRF).

Senior Superintendent Marietto Valerio, chief of the Police Regional Office (PRO) in Western Visayas, exhorted the policemen to comply with the requirement on solid wastes after more than 50 of them participated in the information, education and communications (IEC) campaign spearheaded by solid waste specialist Armando Dayrit upon the direction Environment Management Bureau (EMB) Regional Director Oscar Cabanayan.

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The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-EMB is visiting government offices in Western Visayas to bring the message of proper solid waste disposal management and segregation at source.

The IEC drive is being conducted in regional government offices to inform employees on the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 8003 and Iloilo City Regulation Ordinance 149 that call for a comprehensive solid waste management program in a local government unit, including government and private offices and business establishments.

The information campaign is in coordination with the Solid Waste Management Board and the environment and natural resources office (Enro) of Iloilo City.

The board's enforcement teams are sustaining their campaign in the barangays by issuing citation tickets to violators who indiscriminately throw their garbage anywhere.

Dayrit explained the new garbage collection scheme of the City Government and the new schedule of garbage pick-up in collection points in the barangays, including best practices on solid waste management in other areas in Western Visayas.

Valerio, on the other hand, assured that an MRF would soon stand at the old garbage dumpsite inside the police camp where thousands of plastic bottles, tin cans, garbage papers and cartons are being delivered to the garbage collection trucks everyday.

Dayrit said the MRF is an effective collection point and segregation at source and those working on it may find additional income by selling the assorted garbage, such as paper, softdrink bottles, plastic bottles and other plastic discards to junkshops.