AROUND 300 scrap metal and junk buyers in Cebu City will soon be required to get an accreditation from the Cebu City Government.
Former Cebu City councilor Nida Cabrera announced that the implementing rules and regulations are being drafted for a recently approved city ordinance that will regulate the disposal of special wastes.
Speaking before a forum on the Zero Mercury Project organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) last Thursday, Cabrera said that the ordinance, approved last January, will help regulate household hazardous wastes such as paints, thinners, disposable batteries, spray canisters, and residential and commercial wastes, such as discarded consumer electronics, white goods, car batteries, oil and tires.
Republic Act 9003, also known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, requires special wastes to be handled separately from other residential and commercial wastes.
Cabrera, the main proponent of the ordinance, said the measure will be a crucial step in regulating special wastes, especially within the household.
Barangays, under the ordinance, are mandated to determine their collection points where wastes will be temporary stored for less than 30 days until these are collected by an accredited transporter.
Collection points are required to secure a hazardous waste generator identification number from the Environment Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and accreditation from the Cebu City Solid Waste Management Board (CCSWMB).
All transporters of special wastes must register before the CCSWMB and submit requirements like a DENR accreditation, business permit and a contingency plan.
The City will also accredit special wastes recyclers.
Cabrera lamented that household wastes are often untreated compared to those being generated by industries, which are covered by strict environmental compliance.
Under the ordinance, violators will be fined P1,000 for the first offense, P3,000 for the second offense and P5,000 or an imprisonment of not less than one month but not more than six months or both depending on court discretion.
Industries will also be fined and penalized with bigger sanctions if found violating the ordinance, Cabrera said.
To implement the ordinance, Cabrera said that the Cebu City Government will reactivate the barangay environmental units and mobilize the barangay environmental officers.
In a separate interview, Engr. Geri Sañez of DENR Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) office in Manila lauded the Cebu City Government for being the first local government unit to come up with an ordinance that regulates special wastes.
Sañez, head of DENR-EMB Hazardous Waste Management Section, said that untreated special wastes can often create hazardous effects not only to the environment but also to the public.
