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For the past two weeks, we watched the neighborhood garbage pile grow and wondered when the garbage truck would come to gather it up. Compared to last year’s piles, it was noticeable the individual bags of garbage, the way it was piled up around the electric post was very neat and relatively much cleaner. No dogs tugging at a prize find around it, and the pile did not stink very bad or suddenly emit a sudden buzz as one passed it.

People may have seemed “Ok” with it but no they were not. They called city hall and the radio stations, lest something happened to their regular garbage collector. People gently inquired because for a time the garbage collection was doing fine. Then the city thru the broadcast networks apologized, explained why and appealed for the people’s sobriety and patience for the growing, uncollected garbage piles all around the city.

Though it necessarily was not the regular collection day, the community’s garbage pile disappeared and the area it occupied was cleaned. The city has coped with the problem. And, the people wishfully hope it does not happen again but know it will because of the absence of a long term solution. The town of Tuba may seem quiet but continues to follow up on issues surrounding the city dump.

These continuing shielded resentments, issues and complaints from individuals, puroks, barangays and neighboring towns about Baguio City’s garbage system or waste management sees no end but instead can only grow in quantity and quality for as long as the City’s leadership continues to procrastinate and come up only with short-lived and even expensive solutions.

The blame for the failed solutions can not only be laid on an unlearned and uncaring constituency because they are not. As seen by the quality of handling the neatly-piled individual garbage packages brought to the street-post, its only non-biodegradable contents, and the almost absence of dogs, vermin and flies, are evidence enough that Baguio people are learned, aware and care about the proper handling of waste at their end.

By this time, officers and leaders too could have learned that a landlocked city like ours has neighbors with the same problems of handling or managing waste, water, and environment. They can not just keep looking at the moneymaking aspect of any public project when they are seeking long term solutions for public or growing community concerns like the garbage.

It may be prudent to rethink the plans. It is disconcerting to hear Tuba describe Baguio as “thinking only of itself” when negotiating for space to dump its garbage! # nordis.net