DENR taps DILG, MMDA to help manage wastes amid COVID-19 pandemic

January 30 ------ The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it will seek the help of different government agencies to address problems in waste management amid the COVID-19 pandemic. DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said Thursday they invited the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as well as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to discuss solutions. “We are inviting DILG na rin tsaka MMDA for a meeting because of the biodegradable waste, wherein hindi na naa-address ‘yung segregation ng residual tsaka biodegradable waste,” he told GMA News Online in a phone interview.

Antiporda made the statement when asked about the efforts of DENR in informing the public about proper waste management. Recently, the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations reported that the medical waste in Metro Manila increased by 280 tons per day due to the pandemic. Antiporda said that yellow trash bins were distributed in some barangays where household healthcare waste will be disposed. He added that the yellow bins bring awareness to the public about segregation. He said that the DENR has limited funding to launch an information campaign. However, he said that the agency will work with other agencies instead.

“Itong medical waste na pinag-uusapan natin...the household healthcare waste, which are the face mask, face shield, tapos 'yung gloves,” he said. “These are the things which are suspected contaminated waste na what's important only is the proper segregation,” he added. According to Antiporda, garbage collectors will dump the household healthcare waste in a special cell in sanitary landfills. “Ito kasi kapag kinuha ng mga garbage collector, they put it in a special cell in the sanitary landfill. They do not mix it with the ordinary residual (waste),” he said.

Source: gmanetwork.com