LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte, Feb. 22 (PIA) – The city government of Laoag eyes the improvement of waste management through the expansion of the sanitary landfill in Barangay Balatong and the procurement of recycling equipment and new garbage trucks.
 
According to City Engineer Marishel Batuac, this is in anticipation of the additional waste the city will produce with the construction of a major housing project, a mall, and other business opportunities in the city.

“With the upcoming big businesses to open in the city, we anticipate that the sanitary cell we have now will not be enough. So, the goal of the city government is to acquire the nearby lots to expand the sanitary cell that will accommodate more waste,” she said.
 
She added they will conduct land scouting in the nearby area of the landfill but will now force residents to sell their lots if they do not want to.
 
Additionally, the city government is also installing a de-clogger for the sewage treatment plant and a shredder for the composting facility as part of the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) of the landfill.
 
Batuac said the MRF will help with the segregation and recycling of waste materials which will decrease the garbage going into the sanitary cell.

 
The sanitary landfill covers more than six hectares with retaining walls measuring 100 meters by 100 meters complete with canals so rainwater and residual fluid would not seep into the landfill but drain into the leachate pond.
 
Moreover, the city government procured 10 new dump trucks which will be delivered on February 25 to be used for garbage collection.
 
With the new trucks, garbage collection is expected to be faster and will operate on the right schedule in every barangay in the city.
 
“Before, some barangays would have late collection of trash because garbage trucks would break down, but with the new trucks we will be able to immediately collect the trash of every barangay in the scheduled time and day,” Mylene Pascual, city environment and natural resources officer, said.
 
Based on records from the City Engineering Office, the city collects about 200 cubic meters of garbage per day.
 
To lessen residual waste, the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) is also implementing the Bring Along Your Own Natural Greenbag (BAYONG) ordinance which regulates the use of plastic bags, bans styrofoam, and other materials made of plastic as secondary packaging for all forms of merchandise at the public market and eateries in the city.
 
Moreover, Pascual said the CENRO is continuing its monitoring of barangays to ensure that they are properly segregating garbage and composting food waste to be reused in planting in their community gardens.
 
Lastly, the CENRO is reminding the public to properly segregate garbage so that only residual waste goes to the sanitary cell and the food waste and other biodegradable waste get composted. (JCR/AMB/EJFG, PIA Ilocos Norte)