By Vicky Berdina M. de Guzman
FROM a daily average of 380 tons of garbage collected last year, the Davao City environment and natural resources office (Cenro) was able to raise the average to 411 tons from January to September this year.
Cenro chief Joseph Dominic Felizarta bared the increase in yesterday’s Club 888 media forum at The Marco Polo Davao, adding that the slight increase was the result of the expansion of subdivisions and new malls.
“But this is still way below the 2010 record of 500 tons collected every day,” Felizarta said. “Actually, we saved P37 millio from garbage operations.”
He said 16 percent to 20 percent of the city’s daily collection of garbage are plastics while half of the 411 tons of collected garbage daily are from wet markets, adding that 200 tons of the garbage collected daily are from the city’s wet markets.
Felizarta expects that by next year collection figures will not only increase, but there will be problems caused by the increasing volume of biodegradable wastes from areas that have no composting facilities.
“District one has no composting site for biodegradable wastes, unlike districts two and three which have,” he said.
About 61% of the daily garbage collected is biodegradable, which requires areas for composting.
“This problem will contibe to recur until the time such time as there will be a waste-to- energy program,” he said. “Many establishments are already complying with the city ordinance banning the use of plastic, including secondary plastics such as checkout bags.”
