The long wait is over for the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (City ENRO) as it finally acquired a new Caterpillar Mini-Hydraulic Excavator (2.4 DI Turbo) worth Php 3.8-million. The said equipment is intended for the operation and maintenance of our sanitary landfill.

The acquisition of the equipment has already been identified as a priority since the updating of the 10-year solid waste management plan of the city way back in 2015.

For the past years, it has been a recurring problem of the office on how to efficiently and effectively manage the daily waste disposal to our final disposal facility. Application and maintenance of soil cover including the site grading and stabilization of critical slopes were severely compromised with the absence of a permanently-stationed heavy equipment in the site. The office before only relied from the availability of the limited heavy equipment from the City Engineer’s Office which were also used in various projects of the city. As a result, the office has to employ extra effort and resources so as to address nuisance and to control flies.

The presence of the new Mini-Hydraulic Excavator in the newly established Sanitary Landfill of the City will surely boost the operation and maintenance of the facility. This will also ensure 100% compliance to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) standards in terms of the daily application of soil cover and the site grading of the area. With this, the negative impact of the operation of the landfill will be perceived to be minimized if not totally eliminated.

In addition, the City also acquired a new Cargo Motorcycle worth Php 100,000.00 for the Eco-Saver’s Program. The said motor vehicle was a grant funded from the DENR Environment Management Bureau – 10 for the recycling program of the City Government. The facility will be used for the hauling of the recyclable solid wastes brought during the “Eco-Day” of the 11 recipient schools. With the new equipment, the office plans to expand the program to other interested schools for the next school years.

Written & Reported by: Kris Guerrero B. Tabernero / Mary Grace V. Valdez, City ENRO NADA Coordinators