ORMOC CITY – On Tuesday, February 28, 2023, during the 16th Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) regular session, passed on its third and final reading was the ordinance institutionalizing the trash trap program of Ormoc City, as authored by SP member Lalaine A. Marcos.

The said ordinance is based on the Ormoc City Ecological Solid Waste Management Ordinance of 2017, which is accordingly a part of Ormoc City’s dedication to protect, preserve, and conserve the environment.

The Trash Trap Program of this city is said to be one of the many strategies implemented to reduce the leaking of solid waste and plastics into the marine ecosystem and which facilitates community involvement and ownership of the program through the observance of tasks and scheduled collection of solid waste captured in the trash trap devices.

Accordingly, the trash trap devices installed along the Malbasag River and Anilao River have proven to be major contributors to the reduction of solid waste entering Ormoc Bay since then, witnessing a reduction of almost 1,000 kilograms as per the Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO)-Ormoc.

To recall, the first trash trap in Ormoc was launched in the Anilao River on June 14, 2019 with the cooperation of different LGU offices and departments, riverside barangays lining up Anilao, and the cooperation of private groups and concerned citizens.

Meanwhile, the second trash trap was launched on September 27, 2019, which was done in the Malbasag River. After various rainy seasons and typhoons, these trash traps were relaunched, and more are to be installed in the various rivers of Ormoc.

The local ordinance is further reinforced with the enactment of Ordinance No. 051 Series of 2021, or the “Ormoc City Single-Use Plastics Products Regulation Ordinance of 2021” and Ordinance No. 059, S. 2021, “Banning the Intentional Release of Sky Lanterns and Helium Balloons in Ormoc City,” in a bid to further reduce plastics on land, air, and sea within the territorial jurisdiction of the city. By Gwen Maurillo (EV Mail Feb. 27-March 5, 2023 issue)