An average of 400 tons of solid waste is collected in Davao City everyday from various sources, including 350 subdivisions, 387 industrial plants, 30,000 commercial establishments and other waste generators.
A total of 29,834 mobile garbage bins are located at designated collection points in 103 barangays. There are a total of 20 units of compaction vehicles on 24-hour waste collection service.
With the new leadership, the Davao City environment and natural resources office (Cenro) has no record yet of having penalized violators of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
Arrests start once the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) for the Davao City Ecological Solid Waste Management Ordinance of 2009 are completed.
CENRO officer in charge Joseph Dominic Felizarta said the IRR may be implemented by December.
With 32 personnel assigned to different collection points, the CENRO anti-littering team (C-ALT) was reactivated last September 2. Felizarta said their task is to apprehend illegal throwers or those who do not follow the mandated time of depositing waste in the mobile garbage bins (6-9 p.m.).
“After a month of operation, we were able to regulate the deposit of garbage in Barangay 23-C, Bankerohan, Luz Kinilaw, Mini-Forest and Metro Circle. We will file cases against them if they don’t comply,” he said.
Felizarta added that once the ordinance is implemented, the C-ALT will become the enforcing unit responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this ordinance.
The use of non-biodegradable plastic bags and polystyrene foam as food containers will be banned two years after the approval of the ordinance. As stated in section 7, “Only recyclable, biodegradable or reusable containers are allowed to be used as food and beverage containers.”
The city has already turned over the mobile garbage bins to the barangays, which are now responsible for the safekeeping, maintenance, cleanliness and inventory of the bins. Any person using the bin for any purpose other than what it is intended for will be penalized.
When residual and special wastes reach a volume of three cubic meters or more from any source, except public markets, the Cenro will no longer collect these large quantities of wastes, he said.
The generator(s) will be responsible for transporting these wastes to the sanitary landfill of the city in barangay Carmen, which is expected to be operational this month.
Felizarta said the landfill is worth P268 million, with equipment amounting to P84 million, including a landfill compactor, road grader, backhoe loader and six dump trucks.
While the Cenro only collects residual wastes (no more biodegradable, recyclable and elements for composting), the barangay will assume primary responsibility in managing biodegradable and recyclable waste within their area.
The ordinance also encourages household backyard composting which can help lessen the volume of collected solid wastes, 62 percent of which comes from household and market wastes.
An additional special garbage collection fee of P3,600 shall be required for large and unusual quantities of garbage and other refuse for every truckload. As this pertains to large establishments like malls, Felizarta said a certain mall in the city has not yet paid this fee. [Lorie Ann A. Cascaro]
Penalties on prohibited acts/omissions
A fine of not less than P300 but not more than P1,000, or a community service for not less than one day, but not more than 15 days, or both, shall be sanctioned to any person who is convicted of:
Littering, scattering, throwing and dumping of waste matters in public places, such as roads, sidewalks, canals, esteros, gutters, manholes, campuses, public buildings, establishments, river banks, coastlines, rivers, lakes, creeks and seas, or causing or permitting the same; littering from vehicles; and leaving or abandoning construction materials or debris on public roads.
A fine of not less than P300 but not more than P1,000, or imprisonment of not less than one day but not more than 15 days, or both, shall be sanctioned to any person convicted of:
Dumping of human excreta in mobile garbage bins (MGB) or collection points; dumping excreta or carcass of animals in MGBs or collection points; and, removal of MGBs from designated collection points without authorization from the barangay; and open burning of solid waste.
A fine of not less than P1,000 but not more than P3,000, or imprisonment of not less than 15 days but not more than six months, or both, shall be sanctioned to any person convicted of:
Non-segregation of solid waste; causing or permitting the collection of non-segregated or unsorted waste; and, open dumping, burying of biodegradable or non-biodegradable materials in flood-prone areas.
A fine of not less than P2,000 but not more than P5,000, or imprisonment of not less than one month but not more than six months, or both, shall be meted against any person convicted of:
Mixing, causing or permitting the mixing of toxic and hazardous wastes (THW) from health care facilities, industries and other THW generators in the municipal waste collected by the City; dumping of waste in areas other than the disposal facility of the City;
Operating without a solid waste management certificate as prescribed in this ordinance; non-implementation of solid waste management plan and program submitted as part of the requirements for the issuance of the Solid Waste Management Certificate;
Refusing entry to the Cenro or its duly authorized representative while in the exercise of its visitorial powers provided in this ordinance; and violation of any other provision of this ordinance.
Felizarta said the previous Cenro chief had convicted several illegal throwers caught by the C-ALT. “One will not be issued with NBI clearance when convicted of this,” he added.
“If committed by a corporation, partnership, juridical entity that is standard, the chief executive officer, president, general manager, managing partner or such other officer-in-charge shall be liable for the commission of the offense penalized under this ordinance.
In addition to the penalty provided for above, business permits of establishments that commit the offenses the fourth time or more shall be suspended or cancelled by the city mayor.” That’s the law.
