Jan. 12, 2026 – The City Government will soon roll out a recyclable waste collection scheme in six barangays that serve as pilot areas for the plastics circularity component of the Bida sa Barangay portfolio of the city’s Circular Economy “Pansa-nopen Tayo” program.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong had directed offices concerned to expedite the completion of the collection schemes in barangays Gibraltar, Guisad Central, Irisan, Bakakeng Central, Dominican Mirador, and Happy Hollow to establish a workable recycling program and hasten waste reduction and conversion into resources in the city.
City Planning Development and Sustainability Office Head and Local Circular Economy Action Team (LCEAT) Action Officer, Arch. Donna Tabangin said the concerned punong barangays have already presented their waste management plans and schedules for plastics and food waste collection, and these will be polished within the week, preparatory to their full implementation at the earliest possible time. The target date for the pilot testing of the collection systems will be in the last week of the month.
Aside from the barangay solid waste management plans and schedules, the pilot areas are required to have their own materials recovery facilities, available manpower, memoranda of agreement with junkshops, and a budget for fuel and maintenance.
Tabangin said to fast-track the rollout of the schemes, a monitoring system was adopted, which will cover the establishment of recyclable collection points, engagement with Extended Producer Responsibility-accredited companies, and a tracking system to measure the volume of recyclables of each barangay.
The recyclable waste collection program, along with the other projects under the city’s Bida Barangay, Green Tourism, and Green Education Circular Economy portfolios, is being supported by the European Union Philippines-Green Economy Program and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The EU-GEPP earlier donated six utility vans to the City Government for use in the plastics circularity aspect, including the recyclable waste collection project.
The UNDP also provided funds to the Zero Waste Coalition, a private partner of the city, to conduct a Waste Analysis and Characterization Survey (WACS) on the waste generated in the pilot barangays. ** Aileen P. Refuerzo
