Leyte guv urged LGUs to implement RA 9003

By Provincial Media Relations Center
December 8, 2011

TACLOBAN CITY  –  Local government units in Leyte are urged by the provincial government to start implementing pertinent provisions of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

This as Leyte Governor Carlos Jericho Petilla recently visited the Eco Park Project of Palompon, Leyte which is the latter’s compliance under the leadership of Mayor Ramon Oñate, to the ecological solid waste management mandate of the national government.

Inside the Eco Park, Palompon managed to construct a material recovery facility (MRF) which houses equipments that recycles solid wastes such as plastic.

These equipments include a Bioreactor developed by the Department of Science and Technology’s Industrial Technology Development Institute. This bioreactor demonstrates simple management of highly organic public market wastes and converts them to organic fertilizer reducing potential landfill disposal.

The bioreactor’s operation has low energy cost and does not emit foul odor.  The technology significantly reduces solid wastes problems in the region particularly on biodegradable wastes.  It also conforms to the Ecological Solid Wastes Management Act of 2003 or popularly known as RA 9003.

The MRF also has a plastic shedder machine and a plastic recycling oven that would recycle low-grade plastic wastes into another material.

The provincial government funded in part the construction of the Material Recovery Facility.

Meanwhile, Gov. Petilla urged other LGUs in the province to comply with the provisions of RA 9003 by having their own MRF’s or construction of sanitary landfills.

He otherwise reiterated the problem of solid waste management remains a responsibility of each Filipino citizen, and that the best way to address it was to ensure segregation at source.

It is estimated that with every household practicing waste segregation at home, only 30 percent of waste would actually be dumped in landfills nationwide.

Republic Act (RA) 9003, which took effect in year 2000, mandates SWM as a primary responsibility of the LGUs.

Gov. Petilla reminded LGU officials that failure to comply with the said act can have them charged administratively with the Office of the Ombudsman.