ANGELES CITY - “Educate by being models,” this was the statement of Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan to all city hall employees and officials and the rationale behind the series of trainings on Ecological Solid Waste Management (ESWM) conducted for city employees. 

The training is being implemented in partnership with the Mother Earth Foundation headed by Mr. Froilan Grate.

It can be recalled that the present city administration, through all the Barangay Chairpersons, has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Mother Earth Foundation earlier this year. 

This move is to intensify Pamintuan’s bid to clean up Angeles City from waste and to fully implement Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

“By practicing at the city hall compound the city government is hopeful that it can demonstrate to the entire constituency that achieving zero waste is possible,” Pamintuan said.

“This ESWM training will trickle down to the barangays but first, we have to make sure first that all city employees adhere to zero waste by practicing waste segregation,” says Grate, who facilitated the training.

During the training, Grate gave an overview of the ESWM Act by simplifying the law to the participants as the “Sampung Utos”. 

He said that, in the law, it is the barangays who have the primary responsibility in the mandatory segregation of wastes. 

He also emphasized among others that each barangay should have an ESWM Committee and a Material Recovery Facility (MRF).

Hi-tech solutions to waste disposal like incineration and the utilization of landfills are expensive and pose a lot of danger to people’s health and the environment. 

Angeles City spends P70 million of people’s taxes a year in order to transport the city’s wastes to the Kalangitan landfill in Capas, Tarlac. 

“This money can be put into other projects if waste segregation is diligently practiced by every household, office or establishment,” Grate pointed out.

After the training, each office of the city hall is expected to adhere to and achieve a “Zero Waste City Hall – Angeles City.” 

A ban on the use of all types of plastic (including straws) and Styrofoam will be strictly implemented effective July 04, 2012. 

To complement this, waste segregation in all offices will be initiated.  Each office has an assigned Zero Waste Officer while sanctions against violators will be properly imposed.