BY JOANNA C. BALANZA
Don’t dismiss the warning you could be fined or jailed for throwing your garbage wantonly.
The Davao City Environment and Natural Resources Office (City Enro) has racked up fines of about P220,000 for violation of the city ordinance on waste segregation and disposal since its implementation in July last year.
The campaign led to the arrest of 1,800 violators and 400 facing charges in court, said City Enro officer-in-charge Joseph Felizarta.
Violators of the City Ordinance on Ecological Solid Waste Management are slapped a P300 fine and a one-hour mandatory segregation lecture for the first offense; P500 for the second offense or five days of community service and P1,000 or 10 days community service. A violator earns a case in court for a fourth offense.
The city ordinance mandates segregation of garbage before they are collected by City Enro.
Felizarta said daily garbage volume has been down to 100 tons from 600 tons after the “No Segregation, No Collection” policy was set into motion.
