Davao City urged to strictly enforce proper waste management

INTERFACE Development Interventions (Idis) urged the city government of Davao to strictly enforce the ecological solid waste management in terms of garbage collection to address the growing number of waste in the sanitary landfill that has triggered adverse impact to the public because of the leachate that overflowed to the water bodies.

Chinkee Golle, acting executive director of Interface Development Interventions (Idis) said that the city would not have to worry on the effect of the bulk of garbage dumped in the sanitary landfill in New Carmen Tugbok if only the solid waste management was implemented.

"Kailangan [ng] strict enforcement ng ecological solid waste management because it's a perennial problem in terms of segregation, collection," she said.

Golle said that the city has kept on informing the public to practice waste segregation but when the garbage trucks arrive, the garbage collector mix it.

"Sa enforcement side, ayuson ang collection sa mga trucks gamay lang unta ang maadto sa landfill so ma-mitigate nato but there are other options (There should be proper collection of waste to filter what will go to the landfill)," she said.

Golle added that they have recommended to the city government the banning of single-use plastics so consumers or companies will opt to paper bags.

"Example this is a plastic cups, after our use we will just throw it but if we use reusable glass after this, we will not have garbage," she said.

She also underscored the need to change the mindset and attitude of the public and the mitigating measures must start inside the home to lessen the volume of trash that will go to the dump site.

The issue of leachate will also be part of the agenda for the next meeting of the Watershed Management Council (WMC).

"WMC should really make a stand on it and not just a stand but also find ways to at least mitigate the leachate because harmful siya lahat ng chemicals, toxic substances from garbage are there," Golle said, citing the need for concerned government agencies like the Davao City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environment Management Bureau-Davao to work together to address issues on the sanitary landfill.