More trucks, less garbage?

Reports carried the good news that less garbage was collected after the Sinulog celebration. Did the active waste management campaign pay off? Did the public heed the call for responsible waste management? Did everyone do their share for keeping the city clean during the Sinulog celebration?

Perhaps a number did but the collected tons of garbage still show that there are still many who continue to mindlessly and irresponsibly throw away their garbage where they please. News reports also confirmed less attendees for this year's Sinulog due to the bad weather. Less people could have been an important added factor for the observed decrease in collected garbage.

It's time to evaluate and prepare better waste management campaign for next year's Sinulog and for other future celebrations and events as early as now. It's best to intensify as well effective daily waste management and practice so that the more who practice responsible waste management, the less trash and more positive benefits there are for all and for our environment.

We are concerned about the recent news that more garbage trucks were purchased by Cebu City. Time and again, together with other advocates, we have stressed that the solution to effective management lies literally in the hands of people, not in increasing the number of garbage trucks or personnel.

If everyone lessens the trash they throw, if they reduce, reuse and recycle, or if only they learn to practice waste segregation, so much funds will be saved, no continuing need for more garbage trucks and personnel, less land space uselessly reserved for and allocated to problematic, smelly, unhealthy garbage!

Garbage generation starts from individuals. Less garbage generated, less garbage to be collected. Less generated garbage, less trucks and personnel needed, less funds needed, not to mention the decrease in pollution generated by gasoline-based garbage trucks and less health hazards posed by dirty unsegregated garbage.

The best solution is for each one to do his/her responsible share for proper waste management. Practice makes perfect so training for proper waste generation, segregation and disposal has to be relentlessly done by multisectoral partners and groups, private and public, everyone uniting together to mainstream effective waste management in the daily habits of people and communities!

Rewards can be given to communities and offices that consistently and responsibly take care of their waste. Exposure to best model practicing communities and organizations should also be encouraged. Once people are convinced that they themselves can create a cleaner community as those in Jess Robredo’s Naga city or Cebu City’s own Barangay Luz and Cebu Province’s San Francisco in Camotes have realized years earlier, then we can look forward not only to a cleaner Sinulog but a cleaner city from hereon.

Political will also goes a very long way in convincing constituents to keep their surroundings and environment clean and protected. If political leaders themselves know how to manage waste personally and effectively, their followers are bound to follow. Hopefully, the waste management practices of politicians are not limited to expensive purchase of trucks and expansive allotment of budget merely for waste disposal. Also, hopefully, waste management and environment protection are not bound to particular political colors, with practicing stewards removed from positions due to political affiliations.                      

Cebu City and Cebu Province are major centers in the Visayas and throughout the Philippines. Being a model and showcasing actual effective waste management practices among constituents and communities can be a goal that Cebu as a whole can target from now until the next Sinulog. Do you think residents of Cebu can responsibly take care of their own waste and show everyone else that they can keep Cebu clean and their environment protected?       

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