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Monday, August 22, 2005
Scavengers find less money, food
By Linette C. Ramos
Sun.Star Staff Reporter
WHAT they used to see as a mountain of “money” and a source of food for the whole family has become to scavengers what it really is—just garbage.
At least 320 scavengers sorted trash at the Cebu City Sanitary Landfill in Barangay Inayawan until recently, when the waste segregation ordinance was enforced.
Families would scour through mounds of garbage from morning to afternoon and at the end of the day, they would have at least P200 worth of recyclable trash.
But such items are scarce now, said 54-year-old Lourdes Juario, and it would take them two to three days to earn the P200.
Fewer scraps
“We are getting fewer scraps because the garbage collector get them first. Some households also sell the garbage to the junkyard themselves. The recyclables no longer reach here because of segregation,” Juario told Sun.Star Cebu.
Even if she stayed almost 24 hours at the dumpsite, Juario said she would only be able to collect P90 worth of garbage at the day’s end.
Landfill manager Norman del Mar admitted he has been receiving the same complaints from the more than 300 scavengers who go to the landfill every day.
Important concern
“We understand their concerns but of course we also have to implement waste disposal methods and the solid waste management law to prolong the lifespan of the landfill, which is also an important concern,” said del Mar.
Waste segregation in the households, trash compacting and composting at the landfill have helped extend the facility’s seven-year lifespan to 12 years.
Fernando Abangan, 18, decided to look for a real job since waste disposal technology adopted at the landfill has made scavenging less profitable.
The food he finds at the dumpsite, which his mother would recycle for the next meal, and proceeds of his collected garbage are no longer enough for their family of seven.
Looking for work
“Since we hardly can collect scraps, I only do scavenging work if I want to. Also, I’m already tired because I hardly sleep and yet I manage to collect few items only,” said Abangan.
Most scavengers prefer to get plastic bags and containers since these could be sold at a higher price than glass scraps and bottles.
Juario sells plastic at the junkshop just outside the landfill for P7 a kilo while glass is bought for 50 centavos a kilo.
Scavengers get 20 to 25 centavos per bottle, depending on the size.
Like Abangan, Juario and her children also look out for garbage trucks that came from department stores as this would mean getting scraps that they can recycle for the next meal.
The scavengers count themselves lucky for finding pork stews and fried fish in the heap of garbage dumped by trucks carrying biodegradable waste, which they would wash and cook again.
“We haven’t gotten sick. Just like our getting used to the bad smell, our stomachs have also gotten used to this kind of food,” said Juario.
Having no other means to support himself and his family, Juario’s son, 19-year-old Artemio, said he will continue to stick it at the landfill, hoping he will again find jewelry, cash and lechon at the dumpsite, things that he found in the piles of trash six years ago.
(August 22, 2005 issue)
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