Residents of the city were asked on Sunday to help the local government in its efforts to manage waste that will eventually lead to cut costs.

Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda, chair of the Committee on Health, Ecology, and Environmental Concerns, also encouraged city residents, government and non-government organizations, and civic groups to help decrease garbage and save city government’s funds.

“Let us cooperate and be involved to help decrease garbage which will lead to lessening the garbage being hauled to the engineered sanitary landfill that will cut the hauling, tipping fees and fuel costs spent by the city.”

The city government spends a minimum of PHP230 million annually on hauling garbage for disposal in the lowlands, Tabanda said, adding that the amount can be used for other programs that are more beneficial to the city and its residents.

Since 2012, the city government has been spending for hauling garbage to a private sanitary landfill either in Tarlac or in Urdaneta, Pangasinan, following the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’s (DENR) order to close the open pit dumpsite in Barangay Irisan after almost 50 years of operation.

The millions spent for hauling, tipping and other fees related to assuring that the city does not stink could have been put to better use like child development, livelihood, health care, education, and social services, Tabanda said.

“There are ways to cut on waste generation. Let us reduce, reuse, and recycle so that we don’t generate waste so much. We can also join e-waste collection activities to allow others to repair our e-waste and reuse them,” she said. (PNA)