The Mandaue City government plans to organize a cooperative for the scavengers so that the city government could help them have their own livelihood.
“Dili mi kabutang ug alternative livelihood nila kung dili sila masulod sa co-op (City can’t help in their livelihood projects if there isn’t any co-op formed),” Bobby Ranile, Umapad dumpsite in-charge, said.
Ranile said it would be important to realize this project so that the scavengers could have their own livelihood even if there would be no more garbage in their area.
Ranile was referring to the Umapad dumpsite which would eventually be turned into an eco-park about 10 to 15 years after the methane gas in the dumpsite would be gone.
He also said that once the city succeeds in its projects to convert garbage to energy or fuel, then there might not be any garbage in the city.
He said that barangays Canduman and Pagsabungan were testing machines that could convert plastic into fuel.
Ranile said if these machines would be successful then it would be used in the Umapad dumpsite.
The city government has turned the 1,000 square meter dumpsite into a transfer area to segregate the garbage of non-biodegradable and residual wastes.
Ranile said they were tapping about 155 scavengers in the dumpsite to man the transfer area.
The dry run for the transfer area with the scavengers are expected to be done this week.
Ranile said that the scavengers would still be supervised by the 40 personnel assigned in the dumpsite.
The sanitary landfill in Umapad dumpsite was recently completed December of last year.
Starting January of this year the Umapad dumpsite started receiving segregated garbage from 27 barangays in the city. /Reporter Jucell Mari P. Cuyos