City Hall jumpstarts SWM advocacy with clean-up activity

By LAIMINH S. MABULAY, City Mayor's Office
February 11, 2011

CATBALOGAN CITY  –  Employees of the City Hall put a twist to the old saying, “charity begins at home”. In their case, it’s proper waste disposal begins at home, sending a clear signal that it intends to take the lead in promoting solid waste management.

This was the message that City Mayor Coefredo T. Uy and the City Government wanted to convey as it launched a clean-up drive right in its own premises last February 4, 2011 starting at one o’clock (1:00) in the afternoon. The inter-office clean-up activity was meant to be an initial move before the City Government proceeds to its other activities related to Solid Waste Management (SWM). To further drive home this point, the City Government has purchased color coded plastic trash bins so that proper waste segregation may be applied within the workplace. This was incorporated in its new program dubbed as "Let's S.T.E.P. up or Segregate Trash for Environment Protection!"

Starting today, the waste receptacles will be placed at various areas of the City Hall to maintain its cleanliness and make it more inviting to clients and visitors. The trash bins come in a set of three bearing the colors red, gree and blue. Each color indicates the type of trash that is to go into a certain bin.

The red trash bins are for biodegradables wastes such as food wastes, fruit peelings and plant and animal wastes. The green trash bin is for non-biodegradable wastes such as papers, plastics, glass and metal items. Lastly, the blue trash bin is for wastes that cannot be thrown in either the red and green trash bins. Examples of these are styrofoams, sanitary napkins, batteries, machine spare parts and other industrial wastes.

The City Hall’s clean-up activity was meant to serve as a small step towards a bigger goal, which is to eventually institutionalize solid waste management program as an important component of environmental protection. Without any legislative measure still in place, Councilor Stephany Uy-Tan – who is the Chair of the City Council’s Environment Committee – is currently targeting the public’s awareness as the first step towards gaining support for this advocacy.