The city government, through its Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO), is distributing household composting kits to at least 30 urban villages here to help manage biodegradable wastes.
ENRO chief Mylene Isabel Pascual said in an interview on Thursday that they have so far distributed about 2,500 composting kits.
“To lessen the city’s biodegradable waste production, we need to practice composting to address the solid waste management problem of the city,” she said, citing that some villages are also into waste recycling to help ease the waste issues and extend the life of the newly opened sanitary landfill in Barangay Balatong.
To ensure the proper implementation of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, and the city’s 10-year solid waste management plan, the city government has initiated alternative solutions, such as food waste composting for households to manage their biodegradable waste at home.
Instead of buying garden soil and fertilizer for plants, the by-products of household composting can be used as organic fertilizer.
During the distribution of the composting kits at the Laoag Central Terminal on Wednesday, Laoag City Mayor Michael M. Keon urged village officials and health workers to do their part in ensuring proper waste segregation.
To date, the “no waste segregation, no collection” policy is strictly enforced in the city as the new landfill could only accommodate residual wastes.
Records show that an average of 30 truckloads of waste, or about 50 tons, is collected daily in the city.
Laoag officials expect this to increase as businesses recover. (Rod Sadian)
(Source: LGU Laoag City)