Fastfood chains join zero-waste drive

The Las Piñas City government has tapped fastfood chains and restaurants to help in its waste management campaign.

Las Piñas Mayor Imelda Aguilar said restaurant owners have pledged their all-out support by agreeing to use their establishments as venues for the awareness campaign.

"If residents and business establishment owners fully cooperate and exert all effort in helping the city government in its zero-waste campaign through recycling and composting, garbage collection and disposal will not be a problem in the next five years," Aguilar said.

About 600 to 700 cubic meters of garbage are collected daily in the city’s 20 barangays, including those coming from commercial and industrial establishments.

Aguilar said the city owns and operates 60 compactor trucks and 10 open dump trucks for its zero-waste program. Some 1,000 volunteers were mobilized to maintain the cleanliness and "greening" programs of the city government.

Aguilar stressed the importance and urgency of recycling by segregating the wet, dry and plastic garbage and the practice of composting in every household as well as in offices to prevent the early closure of dumps.

The city was recently adjudged as Metro Manila’s cleanest and greenest and has been a United Nations awardee for environmental protection. — Rhodina Villanueva