As dumpsite closes, trash pile up on streets of Tagbilaran City

Piles of uncollected garbage are found on the streets of Tagbilaran City, Bohol days after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources closed the Tagbilaran dumpsite. (Leo Udtohan/Inquirer Visayas)

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol-  Trash piled up on the streets of the provincial capital started to stink four days after garbage collection was stopped.

Arlene Pesquira, who lives along Graham Avenue in Barangay Booy, had to cover her nose in an attempt to fend off the stench from the garbage piled up in front of their house.

She said the neighborhood is inexplicably soaked in the pungent smell of “rotten fish.”

“It stinks already,” Pesquira, 43, a mother of four said.

Tagbilaran City accumulates at least 60 tons of garbage daily from its 105,051 households.

Piles of uncollected garbage are found on the streets of Tagbilaran City, Bohol days after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources closed the Tagbilaran dumpsite. (Leo Udtohan/Inquirer Visayas)

Garbage collection in Tagbilaran City was stopped on November 20 after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued a cease and desist order against the city government for operating an open dumpsite.

Operating an open dumpsite is strictly prohibited by  Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

Tagbilaran City Mayor John Geesnell “Baba” Yap II tapped the help of barangay officials to make sure cleanliness and proper sanitation are observed in their respective areas.

In his Facebook post, Yap announced that the garbage collection will resume on Monday, Nov. 25.

Collected garbage will be dumped in a 200-sq meter lot in Barangay Cabawan.

Yap said only residual waste will be collected by the City Solid Waste Management Office.

In 2017,  the city already implemented the waste segregation policy.

Yap appealed to residents to do their share by not throwing their trash anywhere.

Edited by MUF

Piles of uncollected garbage are found on the streets of Tagbilaran City, Bohol days after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources closed the Tagbilaran dumpsite. (Leo Udtohan/Inquirer Visayas)