• THERESA MAE DULMAN
The Bacolod City government has started deploying large garbage bins to strategic locations across the city, for the “late throwers”, or those who dispose of their garbage outside of the scheduled collection hours.
The Bacolod Environment and Natural Resources Office (BENRO) installed two large garbage bins in a frequently-used dumping area within the Abada-Arao Relocation Site in Progreso 2, Barangay Vista Alegre.
“The primary purpose of the garbage bin is really for the late throwers; that is the main objective. Because the tendency is, if you are a late thrower and the collector has already passed, you might just hire a trisikad driver (who will dump your) the garbage anywhere,” Mayor Greg Gasataya said.
The city plans to deploy more bins to other areas, including barangays 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 35.
The mayor added that to prevent areas from becoming unregulated mini-dumpsites, the city is implementing a separate collection system with dedicated trucks and independent schedules specifically for these bins.
City Administrator, Atty. Mark Steven Mayo, admitted that addressing late throwers remains an operational challenge, noting instances where individuals dump trash immediately after an area has been cleared.
“Although we also have to assess the situation and remind our private contractor regarding consistent collection, as there are a lot of factors involved,” Mayo said.
BENRO officer-in-charge, Atty. Allyn Luv Dignadice, had said they were deploying 24 large garbage bins to selected barangays and homeowners’ associations.
She said that recipient barangays and homeowners’ associations are required to ensure that these bins will not overflow, or the garbage haphazardly thrown. | TMD
