Sangguniang Bayan member Joaquin Enrico V. Bernos, proposed a mechanism for garbage collection in Bangued during a public hearing on August 1, 2019, at the Municipal Social Hall, Bangued.

The hearing was conducted for the Resolution Asking for the Re-orientation of the Garbage Collection within the municipality and attended by SB members headed by Vice Mayor Mila Valera, barangay captains, sanitary inspectors, EMB-Abra, and ENRO. Mayor Dominic Valera was also present.

Bernos, who is also the Chairman on Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Ecology, proposed a mechanism where households should segregate waste into four: biodegradable, non-biodegradable, hazardous waste, and recyclables. Workshops and seminars on the proper waste segregation in households are in the pipeline.

The barangay officials are responsible for the collection of garbage. They should have designated landfill sites. The municipality, in turn, collects the non-biodegradable and hazardous waste from the designated areas of the barangays to be dumped at the sanitary landfill.

SBM Bernos urges the barangay captains to comply with R.A. 7160 or Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. The RA7160 placed them responsible for the segregation and collection of solid waste in their areas.

He also appealed to the community to keep a clean environment by observing the “No Plastic Policy” in Abra.