ECQ Reduced Garbage Collected in Baguio City

General Services Officer (GSO) Eugune Buyucan has reported that the implementation of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from March 17 to May 15, 2020 has resulted to a 25% drop in the volume of garbage collected in Baguio City.

Daily Garbage Volume Reduced under ECQ

According to Buyucan’s report, the volume of garbage collected in the city during ECQ continued to drop from March up until May 15, 2020.

For March, an average of 175 to 180 tons have been collected daily in the city. However, this dropped further to about 140 tons by the following month and was down to an average of 133 tons daily during the extension of ECQ from May 1 to May 15, 2020. 

According to the GSO officer, the drop in the volume of garbage collected in the city can be attributed to these factors:

• The closure of some business establishments
• Many individuals went home to their provinces during the ECQ

Garbage from Households Increased

Furthermore, due to the stay at home policy, Buyucan said that the volume of garbage from households has increased.

Before the quarantine was implemented, the volume of garbage collected from business establishments used to be higher than the waste coming from houses. 

Increase of Garbage as Businesses Start to Operate

As the LGU of Baguio started to allow some businesses to open under GCQ, Buyucan said that it is expected that the volume of garbage in the city will increase.

With that, Buyucan assured the public that his office will continue to monitor the volume of garbage being collected in the city in order to make adjustments to the schedule of garbage collection as needed.

In addition, Buyucan encourages all Baguio City residents to always segregate, recycle, and reuse their garbage in order to help in the preservation of the environment.

Source: Public Information Office – Baguio City