For the nth time, residents here were reminded to segregate their wastes right in their homes.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan said he will not get tired of reminding the public if only to make the city’s waste management program work.

He said residents should cooperate with the city government through segregation to maximize the operation of the Environmental Recycling System (ERS) machines which the city purchased to address the city’s biodegradable wastes.

He said the two machines could process 48 tons of biodegradable wastes daily but the waste output of the city for the past weeks has not kept up with the maximum because of poor segregation practice.

The mayor said there was a day when the machine processed only 34 tons because of improper segregation in the barangays.

“We hope we seriously comply with the segregation policy to maximize the operation of the machines,” the mayor said.

He said the city has totally stopped hauling of wastes to a landfill facility in Capas and this is a big relief to the city considering the big sum required to transport the wastes.

“Let us help each other to make our waste management program work,” the mayor said.

Biodegradable or compostable waste includes fruit and vegetable peelings, vegetable trimmings, fish entrails, egg shells, fish shells/scales, spoiled food leftovers, seeds, wet paper and newspapers, wet carton/cardboards, expired bakery products, chipped branches, sawdust, “kusot”, poultry and livestock manure, pet manure, corn cobs and sheaths, spoiled animal entrails, rice hulls, peanut shells, animal carcasses, coconut sells and husks, garden/grass clippings.

Recyclables mean dry paper, newspaper, dry cardboards and cartons, plastic containers and materials, empty toner containers, computer ink cartridges, metals, iron, tin and aluminum cans, glass bottles, colorless broken glasses, vehicle batteries, PVC pipes, PE pipes, purified water containers, computer casings, garapa, medicine bottles, undamaged plastic sacks.

Residual wastes include sanitary napkins, disposable diapers, worn out rugs, Styrofoam, broken ceramics, foams, coco fibers from cushion, colored broken glasses, sando bags, packing/twine straws, worn-out plastic sacks.

Special wastes are broken tiles, barber shop waste, dirt materials from sweepings, paint and thinner containers, household batteries, lead acid batteries, bulky wastes like beds, consumer electronics like TV sets, appliances, air filter elements and garden debris. *(AR- Baguio City PIO/PIA CAR)