Lead waste segregation campaign, Mandaue barangay officials urged

ENVIRONMENT officials recently called on barangay captains in Mandaue City to lead by example and encourage people  to practice waste segregation.

Engr. Amansio Doncoy, assistant chief of the Environment Management Bureau (EMB), said they were monitoring 10 barangays in Mandaue City that don’t have functional Material Recovery Facilities (MRF).

He named these as barangays Centro, Tipolo, Cambaru, Umapad, Lo-oc, Opao, Alang-alang, Basak, Tingub and Tawason e recyclable garbage.

Mandaue City closed down its Umapad landfill last year.

It had been trucking its garbage to Consolacion town similar to Cebu City’s arrangement.

Doncoy told reporters they will help guide barangays on implementing waste segregation.

“We don’t like to put  walls between the local officials and our office,” Doncoy told reporters.

He said only four out of 27 barangay captains are practicing segregation in their homes.

Doncoy said their teams do surprise inspections in homes and barangay halls.

He said he’s been practicing waste segregation at home for the past decade and a year.

“It’s different when people see you doing waste segregation yourself because it’s not just the problem of government. It’s everyone’s problem,” he said.

Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. recently held its search for Model Barangays in Waste Management and Ecopreneurship aimed at  encouraging communities to address  solid waste problems through collaboration.

Barangay Jagobiao won fifth place with P100,000 cash while barangays Ibabao-Estancia and Labogon won P200,000 and P300,000 cash for fourth and third places respectively.

Barangay Pagsabungan came in second with P400,000 while the eventual winner was barangay Canduman with P500,000. Correspondent Jucelle Marie P. Cuyos