Remarkable Solid Waste Management in Jagna Town

[pioneer]

Written By Joe Espiritu
Sunday Post Columnist

The Municipality of Jagna is already making a name in the field of Solid Waste Management. The downtown area garbage collection system is functioning well. Except from one outlying barrio of metro Jagna and that is Canupao. / The garbage management and collection there is low. It is neither the fault of the municipality or of the barrio folks but rather of the thing called culture.

Canupao is one of the oldest settled barrios in Jagna. Traces of ancient habitations are found there. Stone hedge boundaries dividing properties were once found although they have been used as construction material in the recent times. Traces of old graveyards old bones in dugout coffins were found there although vandals had desecrated the graves. This means the barrio was a thriving community when the Spaniards came.

The ancient people were not particular in their garbage disposal. Relatively few people living in wide spaces just heaved their trash any place convenient as long as the flies or other insects attracted to it would not bother them. Since they do not build permanent dwelling structures, they can just move to other places away from the accumulated garbage when it bothered them.

Only when living close to each other did they try garbage management. While the population of Looc, lower Canjulao, Pagina and Poblacion grew, they managed their trash disposal to achieve a certain degree of sanitation. But not the outlying barrios. They just throw their garbage any place away from their dwellings or into the sea. No one bothered about garbage until people grew in numbers and started living near each other.

We can say urbanization hit the barrios of metro Jagna. Those in the fringes would not be bothered by their self-imposed rules. They still have wide spaces available and the sea. But as the volume of non-degradable material like plastics, tin cans and scrap iron grew, the problem became apparent. Without proper waste disposal training or motivation, they just continued tossing wastes anywhere.

To compound the problem, Canupao was declared an industrial area. Businessmen established their rice mills inside residential areas. Those affected were the so-called lower middle and lower class. Chaff invaded their homes. When the municipal authorities campaigned about proper garbage disposal, those living in clusters complied. Those whose residences are in the outlying areas of the barrios have their garbage dumps, burned combustible trash and sold those which could be recycled to trash buyers.

Segregation of garbage into the three categories is considered a bother. Most of them are trying to earn a living to be bothered, so they say. Some of the just mouth the excuse out of laziness. However, the carrot and stick policy may be applied here. Culprits should be apprehended and fined heavily. A reward system could be imposed. The informant may earn a hefty portion of the fine. The material, which could be recycled, would be sold immediately. Only the dangerous wastes like storage batteries and chemicals are hauled off by garbage collectors.

In the American West, ranchers, cowboys and livestock farmers use mules as beasts of burden. The mule is legendary for its hard headedness. Once it resists, it digs its heel in and the head may be pulled off but it will refuse to move. Whips are taboo. To counter this mule handlers build a fire under its rear.

To impose the Solid Waste Management program, the municipality cannot always rely on the civic spirit of the people. To those who do not bother, a combination of reward and punishment should be applied and a fire building threat would be posed to induce stubborn and lazy people to move.

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