THE Baguio City Government has increased its fleet of garbage trucks to enhance its garbage collection efficiency especially during the Yuletide season and Panagbenga Festival when the Summer Capital experiences a surge in local and foreign visitors.
General Services Office (GSO) chief Eugene Buyucan said the city recently purchased from a winning bidder four 10-tonner and one six-tonner trucks that were recently blessed by a local Catholic priest at the City Hall grounds.
He said the five trucks will be added to the 14 garbage trucks the GSO currently utilizes to collect the estimated 400 tons of biodegradable and non-biodegradable garbage the city produces on a daily basis.
Buyucan said once the newly-purchased trucks are properly registered, his office will start to implement a two-truck system (one for biodegradable and the other for non-biodegradable wastes) at the central business district.
When more trucks are added, the system will also be implemented in other areas of the city. At present, the garbage collected by the trucks at the CBD are mixed.
The GSO head claimed almost all households in the residential areas are adhering to the city’s waste segregation policy. However, this is still not the case in the tourist areas where some residents and visitors still fail to segregate their garbage, he added.
Buyucan revealed the city needs at least 25 garbage trucks to fully meet the waste disposal needs of this highly-urbanized city’s 128 barangays. (PR)