Mayor Benjamin Magalong ratified Resolution 688, s. 2023, requesting barangays and households to have compost pits or bins where their biodegradable waste may be disposed of to lessen the volume of waste delivered to the sorting center.
The measure was based on a resolution by Senior Citizen Official For-a-Day (Scofad) councilor Josepha Gamsawen adopted during the Scofad session.
As of 2018, the city government has spent over P1 billion to manage and haul garbage to a private sanitary landfill in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan.
Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, requires residents to manage their biodegradable wastes by having their own compost pits or bins.
“Backyard composting is the obligation of residents under the provisions of the law to help concerned government agencies and local governments address garbage disposal concerns in their areas of jurisdiction. At the same time, residents can go into urban gardening in their homes using the compost soil they can produce,” the resolution stated.
Magalong urged residents and business owners to adopt backyard composting methods and technologies to lessen the city’s biodegradable waste production and said it is high time to instill the practice of composting their biodegradable wastes.
He also directed concerned departments to prepare business establishment owners along Session Road for the new composting requirement that the city government intends to impose soon, that states: “Every business especially restaurants should have their own composting facility”, and tasks the General Services Office to disseminate information on simple composting methods that can be done by businessmen and residents. – Gaby B. Keith
