Metro Manila residents must do their part to help reduce flooding in the megacity by not throwing trash indiscriminately, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said this week.
“While there are many contributory factors to these floods, we should also remember that each of us who contributes to the garbage that ends up in our streets and waterways are equally guilty of contributing to these floods,” he said.
Aside from not throwing trash on the street and in gutters, Paje said Metro Manila residents should start segregating their garbage.
“With the ‘no segregation, no collection’ policy of many local government units, the uncollected trash bags filled with mixed waste are often left out on the streets, and their contents are scattered by scavengers, stray animals and the wind,” he said.
Uncollected trash ends up in canals and waterways, he said, contributing not just to floods but also to diseases like dengue when waterways become stagnant.
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Photo: Manggahan floodway in Pasig during Typhoon Ondoy in 2009
