THE City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (Clenro) of Cagayan de Oro, in partnership with the Junior Chamber International (JCI) and the Department of Education (DepEd), conducted a Solid Waste Management Orientation for public elementary and high schools in the city Friday, October 27,.
Elvisa Mabelin, head of the Solid Waste Management Division of Clenro, said the Ecological Solid Waste Management Orientation and Workshop, held at the St. Ignatius Hall, Manresa, Xavier University, is an activity for public school heads to support the program of the City Government in the campaign on reducing wastes or garbage.
"Focus ani is pagpadala sa programa didto sa matag-eskwelahan, munang target nato mga school heads. Hinaot ang mga eskwelahan nag-implement pud sa Solid Waste management program para sa mga estudyante, parents, sa mga faculty nga didto sa ilang eskwelahan (The focus of this activity is to deliver the solid waste management program to schools, that’s why our targets are the school heads. We hope the schools will implement the program for the students, parents and its faculty),"
Mabelin said.
About 100 school heads in the city were present in the workshop.
Mabelin said the event is just one aspect in solving the problem of the deterioration of the environment, adding that the workshop is not just for sharing information but also to guide the schools into coming up with activities to do in line with the management of solid wastes.
"Kabalo naman ta nga ang basura could cause clogging sa drainage kung bisag asa maglabay, and the disposal nag cause gihapon sya na sya'g omission nga gas like methane, grabe kay na sya ka-toxic. Dako ang matabang sa pag reduce sa basura para katong mga contamination sa tubig, sa hangin, dili na to sya (We all know that garbage can cause clogging in drainages and improper disposal of garbage can cause emission of gas like methane which is toxic. Reducing the use of garbage can help in preventing the contamination of water and air),"
Mabelin said.
She added that the Clenro, as part of their regular program, will also monitor the schools of their activities in terms of solid waste management.
"Ang amo lang sa Solid Waste Management Program na kinahanglan gyud kita tanan magpakabanhan (For us in the Solid Waste Management Program, everyone should be aware of this). It's not my concern alone, it's not isa lang ka tao nga concern, tanan na sya, kita tanan nay basura so kita tanan mag atiman sa atong basura. Dili pwede nga pipila lang katao ang mag-atiman. Kung unsa tong gi-generate, dapat responsible ta ana sa paglabay. So responsible ta ana sa pagpagamay sa basura (it's not a single person's concern, but its everyone's concern. We all have our trashes so we all should be responsible with it. We should be responsible with the things we generate, so we are responsible to reduce garbage)," Mabelin said.
This was echoed by JCI-Kagayhaan Gold Chapter President Owen Jaen, who said that everyone should be aware of the problem in the environment.
"I think the Solid Waste Management crisis, the problem of segregating our waste, seeing our trash everywhere is not just the problem of the school, problem of the government, problem of organizations like JCI, but each individual's problem, it is our problem because we produce trash everyday and everybody is actually accountable for all environmental concerns in the city. And we hope that when we are more conscious of our efforts to lessen the solid waste in the city then I think it will be best so that we will not encounter more concerns in our environment," Jaen said.
JCI is an organization in partnership with Clenro in implementing projects and programs within Cagayan de Oro City.
Jaen said part of their activities this year is giving out Materials Recovery Facilities, which are facilities used for waste segregation, for public schools.
Clenro, Mabelin said, proposed an ordinance, Integrated Solid Waste Management Ordinance, to the City Council's Committee of Environment wherein reducing the use of plastic in Cagayan de Oro is part of the proposed regulation.