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Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Mandaue transfers US$164 garbage containers
THE imported garbage bins stored at the unfinished Uniwide warehouse in Mandaue City for a few months now will be moved to a depot in Barangay Basak.
Work on the warehouse, which is part of the property leased to a private company last month, is starting.
Only 500 of the 3,000 bins will remain at the warehouse because these are about to be brought to the barangays that requested for them.
Last week, about 100 bins were moved from the covered portion of the warehouse to a more exposed area. But General Services Officer Renee Tariman said these were not neglected.
All-weather
Tariman said yesterday that the bins were even moved to a place close to the guard assigned at the building.
Even if these were exposed to the elements, he said there’s no need to worry because these bins are made of good quality polyethylene.
“They were made for that purpose,” he said, pointing out that bins along the city’s major thoroughfares have been exposed to sunlight and rain.
Tariman said that when he learned that a private company was leasing the property last May, he was concerned that the garbage bins will have to be removed.
He immediately talked with Mayor Thadeo Ouano and suggested the construction of a shed at the depot where the bins will be stored.
The City Government has a lease contract with Golden Great Value Properties Inc.
Under the contract, the firm will lease nearly six hectares of a City-owned lot, including the site of the unfinished Uniwide building at the Mandaue reclamation area, for a monthly rental of P10.50 per square meter.
The company has committed a minimum investment of P235 million for the development of the property into a commercial complex, in three phases.
Exposed
The development of the property is expected to start on July 1 and end by Jan. 1, 2008.
The program of works and estimates for Tariman’s proposed shed is still being processed.
But even as construction of the shed has yet to start, Tariman decided to transfer the bins to the depot.
The bins will still be exposed to the elements but Tariman assured that the small parts, such as the wheel and axle, will be stored in the office.
Last year, the Mandaue City Government purchased some 8,000 color-coded garbage bins and five compactor trucks from Schaefer Systems International.
For $2.19 million or P123 million (based on the exchange rate of P56.20 to a dollar last year), Schaefer Systems International supplied some 8,502 mobile color-coded garbage bins and five collection vehicles with hydraulic lifting devices.
Why not cheaper?
A 50-liter bin costs $164, while a 120-liter bin costs $111.40.
A 240-liter bin costs $119.40, while a .66 cubic meter bin costs $465.50
The trucks cost over $1 million while the project implementation costs almost $80,000.
The purchase was criticized because similar equipment are sold at lower prices.
The City initially deployed 4,000 bins in the first quarter of this year and gradually distributed the rest.
Two types of bins were distributed.
The blue bins are for non-biodegradable wastes while the gray bins are for biodegradable wastes.
Daily check
Barangay captains are asked to commit to help safeguard the bins from vandals and thieves.
There were cases of vandalism but the bins were immediately replaced and the vandalized ones were cleaned.
A daily inventory of the bins is done based on the serial numbers and the location of the equipment.
The City once recovered two bins from a junk shop, when the owner called to report that two boys wanted to sell the bins. (AAG)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (July 19, 2006 issue)
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