MMDA hauls 187 truckloads of poll trash

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has collected close to 200 truckloads of discarded election materials since February.

According to MMDA Metro Parkway Cleaning Group head Francis Martinez who was interviewed on Saturday, the 187 truckloads of election paraphernalia gathered by his team from Feb. 9 to May 20 included posters featuring local and national candidates, leaflets and tarpaulins, among other materials.

According to him, these were collected from all over Metro Manila, particularly San Juan, Caloocan, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Quezon City and Manila.

According to Martinez, the bulk of the garbage came from Quezon City and Manila.

“Many of these were posters [taken down] from school walls and electrical lines … It looked like these cities were celebrating their fiesta because of the posters that looked like ‘banderitas,’” he said.

This year’s haul of election paraphernalia exceeded that of the 2013 elections, he added.

Earlier, Martinez told the Inquirer that from Feb. 9 to May 10, his men were able to gather 52 truckloads of discarded election materials, or the equivalent of 313 cubic meters or 87 tons.

“In 2013, we are able to collect 83 tons until May 28. But (from Feb. 9 to May 10 this year), we already (have) 87 tons,” he said.

According to Martinez, all collected materials will be donated to institutions requesting for materials they can recycle, including Greenpeace and EcoWaste.

“Even the MMDA has recycled the cartons used by politicians with their faces on it. We turned them into folders and envelopes,” Martinez said.

He said so far, they have made around 2,000 folders and envelopes which would be donated to schools that would make a request.

Martinez said the MMDA team with its 350 men would end its campaign to clear Metro streets of campaign materials this Friday.