Stalls to market green fertilizers in malls pushed

The Mandaue City government will soon put up stalls in malls and public markets promoting organic fertilizers produced by the establishments that will soon be required to put up their own material recovery facility (MRF)

Lawyer Benjamin Cabrido, Mandaue City’s environmental consultant, said this would be a way to help these establishments to generate income out of their waste.

Cabrido was referring to a proposed city ordinance to require establishments in Mandaue City, producing at least 100 kilos of garbage a day, to have their own MRF.  So that they could sort out their own garbage and process their own organic fertilizers.

Cabrido said the proposed measure if approved would help in generating income for these establishments by helping them promote and market their organic fertilizers.

Cabrido also assured that the Mandaue City government would also help these establishments to set up their own MRF as well as help in marketing the organic fertilizers they would produce.

Cabrido said the proposed ordinance would carry heavy penalties on violators.

Once the establishments would have their own MRFs then Cabrido said, the collected wastes each day would reduce to 50 percent to 60 percent.

Cabrido said the proposed ordinance was made after the city government found out that 60 percent of the city’s wastes came from big establishments.

“Naa man ang ilang pangita diri sa Mandaue angay lang siguro nga mutabang sila sa Mandaue (Their livelihood is in Mandaue so they need to help),” Cabrido said.

“Mandatory ni siya. Otherwise kung dili sila gusto ani ayaw nalang pagnegosyo diri (This is a mandatory  requirement to all establishments. Otherwise they should not set up their businesses here),” he said.

Cabrido appealed to establishments not to let the local government shoulder their tons of waste because the law only required the local government to get the residual wastes and dispose their bio-degradable wastes.

Cabrido said some of the residual wastes included napkins, diapers, tin cans, batteries and other plastic wastes.

Engineer Ricardo Mendoza, head of the the city’s Solid Waste Management Board, will assist the establishments in designing the establishments’ MRFs and help train their personnel to man these facilities.

Mendoza said it would cost P100,000 and the city government would provide seminars and trainings for their personnel especially about composting.

Cabrido said Mayor Jonas Cortes administration was aiming to have a cleaner city before the mayor’s term ends.

Placido Jerusalem, head of enforcement team of the solid waste management,  said that they were expanding their initiative and would conduct several checkpoints to implement city’s solid waste management measures.