DENR: Metro garbage to double in 5 years

You think the garbage situation in Metro Manila is bad today? Wait till the end of President Arroyo’s term in 2010 when, according to her secretary of environment and natural resources, it would become worse.

Secretary Mike Defensor, who serves as the President’s occasional spokesman, said the volume of garbage generated by Metro Manila’s more than 11 million residents would double in five years to nearly 11,000 tons a day from the present 5,345 tons.

Of this volume, only 65 percent is collected, while four percent is recycled, he said.

"The remaining 31 percent is dumped in street corners, open spaces and waterways," Defensor told the House appropriations committee that reviewed his department’s proposed P6.2 billion 2006 budget.

This is the reason why streets get easily flooded even at the slightest drop of rain, he said.

Defensor’s revelation prompted appropriations committee chairman Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. of Camarines Sur to ask Malacañang and Metro Manila officials "to do something about this ticking, stinking time bomb."

"This is not just the problem of the government. This is the problem of all. Government can’t solve this alone. Private companies must do their share and citizens must do their bit," he said. — Jess Diaz