SB calls for vigilance vs trash dumping

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. called on his constituents yesterday to be vigilant in monitoring illegal dumping of garbage in the city by neighboring localities.

"We should unite and work together to maintain cleanliness in Quezon City," Belmonte said.

While the city government pursues an effective program to solve its garbage problem, he noted that there are local government units outside its boundaries hampering its cleanliness efforts.

Belmonte issued the call after the discovery of a truckload of hospital wastes dumped along Katipunan Avenue and Circumferential 5 (C-5) Road, near Sta. Clara Church last Wednesday night.

The mayor, with Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. and Quezon City assistant administrator for external affairs Robert Nacianceno, inspected the hospital wastes, which allegedly came from a private hospital in Mandaluyong City.

Belmonte learned, through residents nearby, that the illegal dumping of hospital wastes in the area was not the first time but the sixth. The illegal practice endangers the health of the people in the area because hospital wastes have toxic contents.

Since the closure of landfills in San Mateo, Rizal and Cavite, reports had it, some localities in Metro Manila resorted to indiscriminate and improper dumping of their garbage.

Residents failed to jot down the plate number of the garbage truck that dumped the garbage, prompting Belmonte to mull the idea of offering a reward for anyone who could help identity dump trucks of other cities and municipalities dumping garbage in the city. – Cecille Suerte Felipe