• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The new contract for IPM Construction and Development Corp. to collect and dispose of garbage is expected to take effect Feb. 1, with the Bacolod City government paying them about P25 million to P27 million a month.
Ma. Fe Trespuentes, head of the Bacolod Environment and Natural Resources Office (BENRO), said Jan. 21 that they are now in the process of finalizing the contract of IPM, the lone bidder in the P304-million project to collect, haul, and dispose of the city’s garbage, under a weight-based or tonnage clean-up system.
Trespuentes said that under the new contract, IPM will be tasked to increase collection to 400 tons of garbage per day, from the existing 347 tons a day.
The number of garbage compactor trucks will also be increased, from 20 to 35, to haul waste especially in downtown Bacolod and along subdivisions; four units of hooklift trucks; and 60 garbage bins for barangays and hard-to-access areas, among others, she added.
Mayor Alfredo Benitez said the city wants to ensure an efficient garbage collection, and that garbage are placed in bins and not indiscriminate thrown anywhere.
IPM’s hauling contract last year, with a monthly payment of around P20 million, has been extended until Jan. 31, 2025.
It is tasked to directly carry out the collection, cleaning, and disposal of solid waste (excluding non-household hazardous waste) from various sources, such as from households, public markets, satellite markets, public and private institutions, government offices, schools, churches, business establishments, streets including main and secondary roads, alleys, vacant lots, and designated collection points in Bacolod, and transporting these to the landfill disposal site in Barangay Felisa.
It should also collect domestic solid waste of industries and government/private hospitals; solid waste from street sweeping and other visual clutters and soil mounds mixed with garbage; debris, refuse, or burned materials caused by fire to include vegetation from waterways, fallen trees, blown galvanized iron sheets, or debris due to typhoon or other calamities, the contract added.
Services not covered under the existing contract are the collection of toxic and hazardous hospital infectious wastes, and construction and demolition debris. | CGC
