The city that built its reputation on its most popular product—shoes—now hopes to be known as the cleanest as well.
The local government of Marikina has opened a centralized facility that will allow the sorting of recyclable materials and nonrecyclable waste produced by the city’s 16 barangays (villages).
Trash that can be recycled is sold to junk shops, while the rest are brought to a sanitary landfill in Rodriguez town in Rizal province.
“With the MRF [materials recovery facility], we are able to earn money through selling recyclable waste,” said Mayor Del de Guzman.
The MRF in Barangay Sto. Niño can handle up to 200 tons of waste.
Bigger, better
The new facility is “much better” and bigger than the one in Barangay Concepcion, De Guzman said.
It is said to measure 922 square meters.
“We don’t just save money from renting equipment but we also have a wider space where we can treat our wastes,” the mayor said.
The new facility already generated 62 jobs since the sorting of trash has to be done manually.
The centralized facility is operated by the City Environment Management Office in coordination with International Solid Waste Management Specialist Inc.