BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on third and final reading a proposed ordinance requiring all sellers of agricultural crops to dispose of their agricultural refuse at source or at their point of origin.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Elaine D. Sembrano states the measure is aimed at prohibiting wholesalers or traders of agricultural crops in disposing their agricultural refuse in the city public market and in the different satellite markets that add up to the volume of garbage being collected by garbage collectors in the said places daily.
The ordinance tasked the City Market Supervisor to strictly implement the provisions of the measure to lessen the volume of garbage being dumped in garbage collection points in the different parts of the city public market and in various satellite markets around the city.
According to the proposed ordinance, the city public market is reportedly the source of a high volume of organic agricultural waste or refuse, such as, vegetable trimmings, rotten flowers and fruits, that are openly dumped by unscrupulous market vendors and the public in the garbage collection areas around the city.
The ordinance disclosed that most of the generated agricultural refuse in the city public market do not actually come from the city but from nearby provinces, cities and municipalities and the same add up to the volume of garbage being generated in the city thus increasing the cost the city government spends for the hauling of the city’s residual waste to the Urdaneta-based sanitary landfill.
Based on data obtained from the City General Services Office that is in charge of the collection of city garbage, the average volume of agricultural refuse collected daily in the city public market alone has been categorized as vegetables – 15 tons, flowers – 1.5 tons, and fruits – 0.7 tons.
The ordinance adds the city government has to effectively and efficiently address the volume of waste generated in the city’s public and satellite markets by making sure agricultural refuse being brought to the city by wholesalers and traders must either be brought back to the points of origin by the traders or dumped appropriately in identified dumpsites outside the city.
By properly disposing of agricultural refuse outside the city, the ordinance cites that traders can contribute to the efforts of the city government to significantly reduce the expenses of the city in hauling the city to the Urdaneta-based sanitary landfill.
The ordinance was referred by the City Council to a committee for study and recommendation.
By Dexter A. See
