In a recent appeal, the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) of San Jose de Buenavista, the capital of Antique, has encouraged its residents to take steps towards reducing the amount of residual waste they send to the sanitary landfill. Madelyn Pagunsan, head of MENRO, highlighted that the town produces approximately three tons of residual waste each day, which is part of the total 16 tons of solid waste generated daily.
Pagunsan pointed out that items like soft plastics, including gift wrappers and straws, fall into the category of residual waste. She advised that these materials can be sold to junkshops, urging households to separate them before disposal at the material recovery facility (MRF). She clarified that only certain types of residual waste, such as diapers and sanitary napkins, are permitted at the sanitary landfill.
To manage the high volume of waste, garbage collection for residual waste in heavily affected barangays occurs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. San Jose de Buenavista stands out as the only town in Antique with a sanitary landfill, which began operations in 2020 following a mandate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to shut down open dumpsites across the country.