The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved on first reading a proposed ordinance providing for the management and regulation of waste electrical and electronics equipment.
Under the proposed ordinance authored by Councilor Betty Lourdes F. Tabanda, it will be a declared policy of the city government to protect the health of the people and the environment by establishing a scheme for the management of e-waste in the city.
The ordinance shall apply to all household consumers, materials recovery facilities and formal and informal waste recyclers involved in the generation, collection or dismantling of waste electrical and electronic equipment as classified under Waste No. M507 of Department Administrative Order (DAO) 2013-22 in the city.
Further, all households generating waste electrical and electronics equipment shall strictly observe undertakings such as to continue to own and be responsible for the waste generated in their premises by separating the waste electrical and electronics equipment from the solid waste stream pursuant to existing waste regulations and storing them in a safe area prior to collection and bring the said waste to designated barangay collection points or centralized materials recovery facilities accredited to accept e-waste or during e-waste collection on the day or specific period scheduled by the barangays.
The ordinance stated that establishments such as junk shops, informal dismantlers and other individuals shall not be allowed to collect, accept, store, dismantle and transport waste electrical and electronics equipment from the households unless they are accredited as a treatment, storage and disposal (TSD) facility for the same by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau.
Violation of the earlier provision shall be penalized with an administrative fine of PhP1,000 for each violation committed by the consumers.
The ordinance added that the local government, through the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO), shall establish TSD facilities for e-waste, allowing the collection and dismantling of e-waste collected from households. The initial city MRF-TSD facility established at Bakakeng Central barangay shall be fully supported by the local government.
Moreover, the CEPMO shall establish their respected schedules to allow waste electrical and electronics equipment generators to bring their waste materials to the designed collection points which shall be designated for the said purpose.
The CEPMO shall also establish a system and schedule for the transport/disposal of waste electrical and electronics equipment from the materials recovery facilities or TSDs.
Among the prescribed obligations of the collection points include to accept and allow the temporary storage of waste electrical and electronics equipment from households; provide appropriate interim storage areas and comply with the applicable environmental, health and safety regulations.
On the other hand, the roles of the punong barangays are to conduct information and education campaigns to increase the awareness on proper management of e-waste; monitor the actual collection of e-waste from the households to the collection points; submit information or data on e-waste collected and perform such other functions that shall effective and efficient implementation of the ordinance. By Dexter A. See