Group eyes zero waste during Panagbenga fest

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines -- Villagers here are urging the business community, tourists and all residents to celebrate the Baguio Flower Festival or Panagbenga to aim for zero waste during the celebration.

Drawing up zero waste initiatives, Judy Cariño, co-convenor of the Baguio Citizens No Waste Initiative, called on the public to brace themselves for mounting garbage.

The group, however, hopes the activity will serve as a wake-up call not only for residents but also businesses and tourists to help resolve the solid waste management problem of the city.

Cariño, coming from the biggest native Ibaloi (Benguet native) clan here, explained, “we realize that the grand event of the Panagbenga Festival is also an opportunity to reach out to the public in informing and reminding them about doing their share in managing garbage.”

The previous Panagbenga (A Time To Bloom) celebrations here saw an average of additional  2,745 tons of  garbage churned during the month-long festivities.

This adds to the 10,980 tons of garbage being collected yearly notwithstanding the mounting expenses the city incurs from hauling and tipping fees to  bring the trash to the Urdaneta City engineered sanitary landfill, Cariño said.

Baguio has been spending P193,276 daily or P580,126.65  monthly for collecting trash.

The active citizens’ group now monitoring garbage in the city also urged the effective implementation  of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003) and other ordinances on anti-littering, no smoking, no spitting including waste segregation efforts.